Scouting FAU: Owls’ High-Flying Offense Swoops into Gainesville
After a 4-8 season in 2025, Florida Atlantic aims to soar to a better result in its second season under head coach Zach Kittley. The first obstacle in the Owls’ path: a new-look Gators squad, hungry for their first win of the Jon Sumrall era.
While the Owls’ air raid offense may have not panned out last season, optimism rings through in Boca Raton on what FAU can accomplish in 2026. Signs began to point toward improvement at the closure of Zach Kittley’s opening season at the helm, producing the program’s first in history with over 4,000 passing yards.
One of the players responsible for that output, graduate quarterback Caden Veltkamp, captained a passing offense that led the nation at 340.2 yards per game through the air. Veltkamp also completed the most passes per game at just under 29, a pair of metrics that he earned respect for from Florida coach Jon Sumrall.
“You look at the quarterback who has played a lot of football, he is really experienced,” said Sumrall. “[Veltkamp] is a big guy with a good arm. He can make all the throws and the receiving core around that guy is really good.”
As mentioned by Sumrall, the supporting cast surrounding Veltkamp is what tends to make FAU’s offense potent. Fifth-year receiver Easton Messer leads the unit heading into the season opener after a stellar 2025 campaign that notched him All-American Athletic Conference Second Team honors.
The Western Kentucky transfer earned a top-10 national rank in receiving yards per game at 87.7, as well ending top 15 in the nation for season receiving yards at 1,052 during his first season in Boca Raton.
The other wrinkle that adds intrigue to FAU’s offensive attack is the tempo at which it runs. FAU utilized a turbo pace as one of their biggest advantages to throw defenses off, only taking 21.4 seconds per play. That mark tied with USF for the best in the nation, another program that gave Florida problems in 2025.
While the tempo may prove to be a challenge, the test may be something the Gators needed to kick off the season. Florida defensive coordinator Brad White sees the opportunity as the recipe to get his players acclimated to gameday action.
“With the pace that FAU plays at and the ability for them to roll wide receivers as deep as they are at that position, we’re going to have to be able to to roll guys on the outside edge as well and keep them fresh and play fast,” White said. “We have to empty the tank on every play.”
Despite FAU’s offense having no problem scoring and excelling through the air, the story is not the same for the defense.
FAU’s defense ended the 2025 season bottom 10 nationally in total yards per game (436.5) and points per game (36.3). In combination with the Owls’ woes at stopping opponents, they rarely forced them to turn the football over, ending bottom 10 in that statistic too with only eight turnovers for the whole season.
After a lighter start to the season in 2025 by taking on Long Island, the Gators cannot write off the Owls as an easy victory. Expect a high scoring affair from two offenses, both with a lot to prove after a season of shortcomings a year ago.
“I told our coaches that in the first two drives of the game, we have to be ready to adapt,” said Kittley of the matchup. “They have had eight or nine months to prepare and do stuff that we have not seen before, just like we’re doing the same thing.”
Category: Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football
