Spring football is around the corner for the FAU Owls as the team carries sky-high expectations under second-year head coach Lane Kiffin.

The Owls return to the field Tuesday, March 20 and will hold practices every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, culminating with the spring game set for April 21.

Practices at the Boca Raton campus will begin at 9:30 a.m. while start times for the satellite practices and spring game have yet to be determined.

FAU will hold two practices in its neighboring counties, returning to Carter Park in Fort Lauderdale for the third straight year and practicing in Miami’s Hadley Park for the second straight year.

The practice at Carter Park is scheduled for Saturday, April 7, and the practice at Hadley Park is scheduled for the following Saturday, April 14.

The spring game has been held at FAU Stadium every year since its construction in fall 2011, but according to a report by Owl Access, construction of the nearby Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence may force the game to another location.

FAU has hit the ground running in preparation for the 2018 season with its “4th Quarter” offseason conditioning program, headed by strength and conditioning coach Wilson Love.

“The biggest thing about this year is that 2017 is done,” Love said in an interview with Inside the Owls’ Burrow. “2018 is a new team…we don’t even have an identity yet, and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish right now.”

Redshirt senior safety Andrew Soroh reiterated Love’s focus on looking toward the future.

“2018 season we ain’t come here to participate; we came to take over,” Soroh said in a video produced by Inside the Owls’ Burrow.

ESPN SportsCenter commentator Steve Coughlin got a behind-the-scenes look at one of the Owls’ workouts and came away impressed.

“Went to watch @FAU_Football and the “4th Quarter” program workouts this past week while on vacay.” Coughlin said in a tweet.  “There isn’t a person in America with more energy than their strength coach, Wilson Love. Awesome to see the staff assembled by Lane.”

In the 2017 spring season, the Owls had to adjust to a new offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator in Kendal Briles and Chris Kiffin. With both of them moving on after a single season at FAU, the Owls will be under the same learning curve in 2018.

FAU ran a 4-2-5 defense last season (four defensive lineman, two linebackers, and five defensive backs), and it remains to be seen whether the scheme will be changed following the hiring of new defensive coordinator Tony Pecoraro.

First-year, 24-year-old offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will be calling plays for the first time in his life this spring, as he looks to duplicate FAU’s offensive success from a season ago where the Owls scored 40.8 points per game (No. 8 in FBS).

Last spring, the defense stymied the Owls offensive attack, winning the scrimmage 62-33.

According to Sun Sentinel reporter Matthew DeFranks, who covered last season’s scrimmage, the offense followed a traditional scoring system and the defense scored as followed: drive and stops, fumble recoveries, and interceptions each accounted for three points, whereas three-and-outs and defensive touchdowns were scored at five and six respectively.

After capping off the 2017 season on a 10-game winning streak, FAU gained the respect — and heightened expectations — of the national media.

Sports Illustrated reporter Chris Johnson wrote, “Anything less than another Conference USA championship in 2018 would register as a disappointment for Florida Atlantic.”

Wajih AlBaroudi is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet @WajihAlBaroudi.