The FAU football team was back on the practice field this past week, looking to hone in on consistency. 

“I think that word is used with all of us,” head coach Willie Taggart said. “We all want to be consistent in what we are doing.” 

Not only does Taggart ask for consistency, but he wants the team to compete. 

“I want our guys to be brutally honest with themselves on where they stand. I tell those guys to grade themselves every single day, not just with us, but themselves to be real with themselves,” Taggart said. “If they’re not where they need to be, then that next day, they need to improve.”

Taggart has already seen positive things from both the offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon and the defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.

“I think the coordinators have done a great job taking ownership of their side of the ball and seeing other systems following and helping, and when that happens, you see the players start to do the same thing,” Taggart said.

Taggart has also seen many players grow up, notably junior inside linebacker Eddie Williams.

“[Williams] has been phenomenal this entire offseason,” Taggart said. “I’ve been really impressed with his growth, his development, and the way he’s performing on the football field.” 

Orlando also said that Williams has stood out. 

“He is extremely bright. I mean, he is one of the brightest guys that I ever coached,” Orlando said. “He’s a sponge, he’s a one-rep guy, and he can go into a meeting room and you can teach him something one time and he gets it.”

As for the overall defense, Orlando wants to see “fanatical effort” from his players.

On the offensive side, Dearmon emphasized consistency as well.

“We can’t have a great day one day and come out and what we call ‘lay an egg’ in this business the next day,” Dearmon said. “We just gotta keep preaching consistency.” 

Redshirt sophomore Javion Posey has caught the attention of the coaches this spring too. 

“He understands football because he’s played quarterback,” Dearmon said. “He’s big, he’s physical, looks like a running back playing receiver, so when he gets his hands on you and is blocking, he’s doing a really good job.” 

Most of the focus is on the offense and the defense right now. Taggart said the special teams have been quiet other than practicing punting and they are focusing on teaching the individual position to players. He is impressed though with the competitiveness.

“You see more guys trying to be on [special teams] and they are competing in the drills that we’re doing… That’s a really good thing,” Taggart said.

The first scrimmage is on Saturday, March 26, and spring practice will conclude with the spring game on April 9.

Bryce Totz is the Sports Editor at the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email him at [email protected], or tweet him @brycetotz.