After taking the day off on Wednesday, FAU hit the field once again at the Schmidt as the Owls are a day closer to kickoff against Maryland in week one. The day’s viewing period consisted of individual drills as the team prepared for their first scrimmage of Fall camp on Saturday.
The focus of the day for the media was defense and special teams. The last time we had the opportunity to speak with special teams coordinator Tyler Schovanec was on day 3 of camp. Now, six days after his last media appearance it was time to hear about the special teams once again.
While special teams is never considered as flashy as an “air-raid” offense or as exciting as a young defense with a lot to prove, it is still going to play a huge part in the Owls 2025 season.
Kickers
Garrison Smith - Redshirt Senior, 5’10, 185 Ibs
Smith has seen many different types of Fall camps throughout his collegiate career. After starting off as a walk-on at Ohio State, Smith transferred to McNeese State. There, Smith had punting and place kicking duties before transferring once again to Akron for the 2024 season.
Last season, the redshirt senior had 16 field goal attempts and hit on 13. His longest was against Ohio as Smith hit a 49-yarder.
Logan Lupo spoke about Smith fitting into the specialists room on Thursday, “Garrison, he’s a vet, he comes in, he’s ready to go, he knows what’s going on.”
Andrew Nelms - Redshirt Sophomore, 6’2, 210 Ibs
Nelms joins the Owls with two years of college football under his belt. The last two seasons, the Georgia native stayed close to home as he was a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket. During his time at the school Nelms had no playing time. While having to ride shotgun once again, Nelms has three years of eligibility left after 2025.
Lupo also highlighted Nelms on Thursday, sharing that Nelms has done a good job since arriving at FAU.
Punters
Logan Lupo - Redshirt Senior, 6’0, 190 Ibs
The Owls have a major return in Logan Lupo. The redshirt senior has been at FAU since 2021 and has been the starting punter since 2023. Last season was a great year for the punter as he averaged 44.5 yards per punt, 16th nationally. On his 47 punts during the season, Lupo downed 14 inside the 20 and had 15 reach over 50 yards. Lupo also earned American Conference 3rd team honors.
On Thursday, Lupo spoke after practice. He shared his strict diet, workout schedule, and sleep schedule. The Ray Guy Award watchlist punter described his transformation, “I was at one point 202 pounds, probably about 21% body fat, not very good, still kicking and punting fine, but just not what I wanted to be. And so that year…when I got to season, I went down. I got down to 169, 3% body fat. Then started putting on good weight…”
The punter clearly has his priorities straight and should standout for the Owls once again when called upon.
🦉🎙️🦉 @FAUFootball Day 7⃣ SPECIAL TEAMS INTERVIEWS featuring @CoachSchov and @Lupo_Logan ROLL IT 📽️ #FAU pic.twitter.com/7gOuyFvd6m
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) August 7, 2025
Alex Grace - Redshirt Freshmen, 6’4, 190 Ibs
While not expected to see the field much this season, Grace is somebody we can expect to fill in the punting role for next season. The Youngstown State transfer has spent most of Fall camp just bettering himself down the road, working with Lupo.
Return Specialists
Throughout Fall camp special teams have been brought up frequently. The first words out of Coach Schovanec’s mouth in his first presser were, “One of the first things [Kittley] said was ‘our best players have to play special teams.’ So for him to stand in front of the team and tell them that. They understand how important that is.”
What that means is some of the team’s best weapons are going to earn extra touches as returners.
Coach Schovanec mentioned a few names earlier in Fall camp as a few guys competing for a spot as a return specialist.
Easton Messer - Redshirt Junior, 5’9, 190 Ibs
The Western Kentucky transfer has made a name for himself throughout his career. From making the CUSA All-Freshman team in 2023, earning Phil Steele Postseason CUSA All-Conference Fourth Team Special Teams in 2024, or being added to the Paul Hurnung Award Watch List last week, Messer has been a proven commodity when the ball is in his hands.
While we have already highlighted Messer’s receiving abilities, let’s dive into his kickoff/punt returning numbers. In two seasons of being a kickoff specialist for the Hilltoppers, Messer had 34 returns earning a total of 790 yards. An average of 23.2 YPR with his longest coming against Jacksonville State, a 60 yarder last year.
Gemari Sands - Redshirt Sophomore, 6’0, 195 Ibs
Last season Sands saw one kick return. That was a 25 yard return against FIU in the Owls 38-20 victory over the Panthers. While the kickoff numbers are not comparatively close to Messer’s, the versatility is. In his limited role last season, Sands had 117 yards rushing and 60 yards receiving. Overall Sands made up for 202 yards of Florida Atlantic’s production last season.
Sands is also considered the fastest guy on the team. If anybody were close to guaranteeing a break open a run when they find open space, it is Sands.
Jayshon Platt - Redshirt Junior, 6’1, 195 Ibs
When Coach Schovanec was asked about some of the Owls we could see in the return specialist position, the first name he mentioned was Jayshon Platt. Platt decided to redshirt last season to spend a year improving after making contributions in FAU’s first three games last year. In his lone kickoff return, Platt gained 29 yards in FAU’s 2023 victory over Charlotte.
It also helps that Platt has been known for his speed. In high school the redshirt junior ran the 100 meters in 10.9 seconds, roughly 91 yards.
Xavier Terrell - Redshirt Sophomore, 5’8, 175 Ibs
Another name mentioned by coach Schovanec as “doing a really good job,” Terrell has had some experience as a return specialist at the college level. During the 2024 campaign Terrell made his return man debut against UTSA. On the day, the redshirt sophomore had two returns totaling 46 yards.
One can also look back at the back’s yards per carry last year to know putting him in as a return man is not a bad idea. With an average of 18.6 YPC it’s pretty clear why Terrell is being looked at as a return man.
Up Next
Friday will be the last day before the first scrimmage of Fall camp. While it is expected to be a lighter day, inside linebackers coach Aaron Schwanz will speak to the media as we will highlight the defensive side of the ball for the first time in our positional previews. Our focus on the day will be the linebackers.
