Florida Atlantic hopes that a good degree of continuity will lead to improvement after a 4-8 record as Zach Kittley begins his second season as head coach.
The Owls are the only FBS team that returned the entire coaching staff and starting quarterback. They also have five starters returning on offense and four on defense, which is not a bad number in this era of an active yearly transfer portal.
The Owls will also be looking to end a streak of five consecutive sub .500 seasons, although the schedule is difficult beginning with the first two weeks against Florida and Navy.
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FAU Season Preview
The offense should again be potent after averaging 29.5 points per game, which was seventh in the 14-team American Conference. The key will be whether the defense can significantly improve after allowing 36.3 PPG, which was 13th.
Key Players To Replace
Gemari Sands, last year’s leading rusher with 465 yards, has transferred to Florida State. Receiver Jayshon Platt, who had 46 receptions for 720 yards and five touchdowns, transferred to Illinois. Receiver Assad Waseem, who had 66 receptions for 699 yards and five touchdowns, is now at Purdue.
Redshirt senior linebacker Tyler Stolsky, who was second on the team with 90 tackles, transferred to West Virginia.
Quarterback Situation
Redshirt senior Caden Veltkamp transferred prior to last season from Western Kentucky and completed 67% of his passes for 3,641 yards with 24 touchdowns but also 17 interceptions. At 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, Veltkamp has great size and a big arm, but he must cut down the interceptions.
Those battling for the backup role are young. Redshirt sophomore Drew Devillier is a transfer from Rice. The other quarterbacks are redshirt sophomore Michael Valentino, sophomore Jordan Magwood and freshman Jeremiah Daoud.
Top Returners
Redshirt senior receiver Easton Messer was a second-team All-American Conference selection after catching 104 passes for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns. Redshirt senior Dominique Henry had 40 receptions for 574 yards and four scores. Junior Kaden Shields-Dutton rushed for 460 yards and six touchdowns,
Redshirt senior Vincent Fiacable started 12 games last season at center but is moving to guard. Redshirt senior Ja’Kavion Nonar started 10 games at left tackle. Redshirt senior defensive tackle CJ Doggette Jr. was a third-team all-conference selection after recording a team-high four sacks. Redshirt junior tackle Wilky Denaud contributed 30 tackles including five tackles for loss and three sacks.
Redshirt senior defensive end Deshaun Batiste contributed 24 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Redshirt senior linebacker Leon Hart Jr. was a third-team selection after recording a team-high 96 tackles. Senior linebacker Khmari Johnson was fifth on the team with 44 tackles. Redshirt junior cornerback Chris Tooley III had 23 tackles and two pass breakups. Graduate corner Damarius McGhee had 32 tackles and four pass breakups.
Sophomore safety Damon Allen had 24 tackles and one pass breakup in 11 games. In 12 games last season, senior safety Jayden Sweeney had 39 tackles and four pass breakups.
FAU’s Newcomers
Senior running back Leonard Farrow rushed for 1,438 yards for Fairmont State last season and is at FAU now. He scored 12 of his 14 touchdowns rushing, ranking fifth in Division II, while averaging 8.1 yards per carry.
Redshirt junior receiver Kelby Valsin had just three receptions last year for Texas Tech but is expected to be a big part of the Owls’ offense. Graduate receiver RJ Garcia II had 27 receptions for 283 yards last year at Bowling Green.
AJ Johnson, a redshirt senior tight end, had 20 receptions for 235 yards and five touchdowns last season for Villanova. Redshirt junior offensive tackle Ben Galloway appeared in four games for Georgia Tech and is expected to contend for a starting spot. Redshirt junior defensive end Jay Crable appeared in 13 games for Ohio and led the Bobcats with six sacks while earning second-team All-MAC honors. Senior defensive end Jonathan Bax had 13 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss last year for TCU.
Junior linebacker Nate Fischer had a team-high 97 tackles for San Diego and was a first-team All-Pioneer Football League selection,
Redshirt senior defensive back Tyson Rooks played in all 12 regular season games last year for Illinois, making five tackles. Bo Simpson-Nealy, a redshirt junior defensive back, had 54 tackles last season for Western Carolina. Redshirt senior cornerback JK Johnson had 16 tackles and two pass breakups last year for Oklahoma State.
FAU’s 2026 Schedule
- 9/5 at Florida
- 9/12 vs. Navy
- 9/19 vs. FIU
- 9/26 at ULM
- 10/3 vs Texas Southern
- 10/17 at Army
- 10/24 vs. Rice
- 10/29 at North Texas
- 11/5 vs. UTSA
- 11/14 at Tulsa
- 11/21 vs. South Florida
- 11/27 or 11/28 at East Carolina
Bold indicates American contests
FAU’s American Conference Title Betting Odds
FAU’s college football betting odds to win the conference are +3000, via BetMGM. The Owls are ninth among the 14-team conference when it comes to betting odds.
FAU’s Betting Odds & Over/Under Win Total
- FAU’s win total Over/Under is 5.5.
- The Under is at -105.
- The Over is at -125.
FAU Season Prediction
I predict the Owls will go under 5.5 wins. In fact, it could be at five wins, which would still be an improvement over last year. The offense should be formidable, but there are too many unknowns about the defense to tell whether they will be vastly improved from last year’s unit.
In their American Conference schedule, they only play two teams that are ranked below them betting-odds wise – Rice and Tulsa.
That doesn’t mean the Owls aren’t capable of an upset or two and getting to .500, or even posting a winning record is certainly not out of the question. There appears to be much more parity in the American Conference, and anything is possible, but FAU will have to show it can stop teams consistently.
