Florida Atlantic University football began its spring practice on March 17 under the leadership of second-year Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley. The team held a two-hour session, marking the start of preparations for the upcoming season.
The return of all position coaches and redshirt senior starting quarterback Caden Veltkamp sets Florida Atlantic apart as the only Football Bowl Subdivision program to retain both groups for another year. This continuity is seen as a key advantage for the team as it builds on last year’s foundation.
Kittley said, “Those 10 full-time coaches, including myself, all intact, I can’t put a price tag on how important that is. There’s so much continuity, the staff understands what I’m expecting from them. But also, we have a bunch of key returners coming back on this football team too, so they understand exactly what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to install new schemes, offense, defense, or special teams, it’s all there…The continuity is almost unheard of in the world we’re living in right now, so to have that is super special for us.” He added about his goals for spring practice: “Coach Lee [Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Brandon Lee] comes up to me about every 15-20 minutes at practice and asks how it’s going. I told him my whole job is, at the end of the day, we have to get better as a unit, the whole 100+ players on the team right now. We have a lot of new faces so we have to find out what we’re good at, what our players can be the most successful at.”
More than 50 newcomers joined returning players such as senior defensive tackles CJ Doggette Jr. and Wilky Denaud during Tuesday’s session. Redshirt senior running back Leonard Farrow described his transition to Florida Atlantic by saying, “It has been amazing. As soon as I got up here, it already felt kind of like a family. That was a big reason why I committed to here. Coach Kittley is big on family being the common man. The running back room welcomed me in with open arms like I knew them my whole life. It was definitely a comfortable feeling, knowing that I have guys that are rooting for me as I root for them.” Farrow also reflected on moving up to Division I football: “We all as players have pro aspirations… Just betting on myself and putting it on for my family and friends back home, it’s a big deal for me.”
Redshirt junior defensive lineman Wilky Denaud spoke about adjusting positions within the defense: “It has not been much of a big adjustment for me just because last year was the same defense for me… It made me want to come back and play inside for Coach (Devin) Santana.” On leadership within the group he said: “I definitely want to lead the group… We’re always trying to figure out ways to help each other… we let them know and we get better as a group from there.”
Season tickets are now available through FAUSports.com/tickets or by contacting FAU Athletics directly.
