With a full mock game week under their belt, the Florida Atlantic football team wrapped up wrapped up their first official game week session at the Schmidt Complex practice field on a warm Tuesday morning, making a lot of preparation with four days remaining until their season-opener against Monmouth. Offensive coordinator Charlie Frye made himself available to media following the session. “We’ve established the standard that we’ve set offensively, and that’s who we want to be; and that’s a tough, both mentally and physically, and smart football team,” Frye said. Frye said the one thing he wants to see the team be consistent with for the entire game against Monmouth is having a no-flinch mentality. “Football is not a game of a constant trajectory; it’s a game of ebbs and flows, there’s going to be great and there’s going to be adversity so the mindset’s got to be we don’t flinch,” he said. “You respect your opponent, you prepare to your best ability, and get the players in position for them to be successful. Every week is the same mindset.” Here are some notes from today’s media observation period. OwlBytes for August 29th Scouting Mode With game preparation heating up, some of the Owls donned white helmets for the first time, acting as scouts for Monmouth. Many players also wore black jerseys with different numbers to imitate certain Monmouth players on both sides of the ball. “It’s about us taking care of our business and preparing throughout the week because the game is not going to be won on Saturday; the game is won today at practice, Wednesday at practice when we’re doing third downs and red herrings, and Thursday when we’re going through every situation,” Frye said. Denying The Pass Some players on defense did a drill that had them prevent the opposing quarterback from completing the pass. This involves ripping the arm to disrupt the quarterback’s throwing motion and making the right movements to force the quarterback to find another option more difficult than his original target. Among the players who did well in this drill were defensive end Marlon Bradley (pictured), linebacker Zyere Horton, and outside linebacker Morven Joseph. Clean Operation Quarterback Casey Thompson credited the talent Monmouth possesses as an FCS program, understanding that a lot will have to be done for the Owls to pull off the win over the Hawks. “Our number one goal for week one is to have a clean operation. As an offense, that’s having alignment, no penalties, blocking the right guys, reading the right people, and having the right personnel on the field,” Thompson said. Other goals he mentioned include protecting the football, creating explosive plays, and scoring touchdowns in the redzone. “People look at football as an outcome-based sport but I think it’s process-based, and for us right now, we have to focus on the process and the details,” he said. Final Word The preparation appears to be more heated up than ever before. Imitating the routes and movements Monmouth’s players might take when Saturday arrives gives plenty of indication that they will leave no areas overlooked. They want to begin the season on the right track, and they are displaying that with the level of focus they had for today. Coach’s Corner Offensive coordinator Charlie Frye, running back Larry McCammon III, and quarterback Casey Thompson headline today’s Coach’s Corner. The Owls will return to the Schmidt Complex practice field on Wednesday morning, with defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni and requested defensive players being available for interviews.
