2011 Florida Atlantic Football Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

The Florida Atlantic Owls come into the 2011 season off a poor 4-8 (3-5 Sun Belt) finish in 2010, and it doesn’t look like there is much hope that they will turn things around this season. Howard Schellenberger enters his 11th season as the head coach, and has done a great job of getting the best out of what he has to work with. Schellenberger’s talents will be put to the test in 2011, as the Owls lose their starting quarterback, top three wide outs, and five of their top six tacklers. Here’s a closer look at what Florida Atlantic will send to the field on both sides of the ball, plus my prediction on where they will finish in the Sun Belt.

Offense:

The Owls top two candidates to replace starting quarterback Jeff Van Camp are juniors David Kooi and Graham Wilbert. Kooi is more a mobile quarterback with a strong arm, while Wilbert relies on his accuracy inside the pocket. With Wilbert going down with an injury in spring practice, it looks like Kooi will be the starter in the opener. Neither has much experience, and will likely fail to match Van Camp’s 2,459 yards and 17 touchdowns.

The loss of the top three receiving threats from 2010 will only make it harder on the new starter. The biggest loss is 1st-Team wide out Lester Jean, who had a team-best 64 catches for 988 yards and eight touchdowns. It looks like the Owls will turn to a couple of young players in 2011, as sophomore DeAndre Richardson and redshirt freshman Marcus Cunningham are the top two candidates to start along side senior tight end Darian Williams.

With the passing game looking like it will be down a few notches from last year, look for Florida Atlantic to rely heavily on senior running back Alfred Morris. In 2010, Morris carried it 227 times for 928 yards and seven touchdowns. The only concern is that with the lack of a passing attack, opposing defenses will likely load the box to keep Morris from beating them.

One thing that will be working in Morris’ favor is the Owls return all five starters on the offensive line. Coming into last year the Owls didn’t have a single starter back up front, and it was a big reason why they went from averaging 27.4 ppg in 2009 to just 16.8 in 2010. There isn’t a ton of individual talent in the group, but the year of experience playing together should lead to some big improvements.

Defense:

The Owls have just five starters back on the defensive side of the ball, and will have to adjust to the new 3-4 scheme being put in place. The switch to the 3-4 could actually benefit them up front, as they return seniors Jarvis Givens and Kevin Cyrille. Givens will open the season as the starting nose tackle, with Cyrille and senior Jamere Johnson starting on the outside.

At linebacker the Owls bring back junior inside backer Yourhighness Morgan and sophomore outside linebacker Randell Johnson. Senior David Hinds will benefit from the switch to the 3-4 and start inside with Morgan, while sophomore Cory Henry is expected to start at the other outside spot. The Owls are also considering using junior fullback Xavier Stinson at linebacker, as he has really worked hard on becoming a 2-way player.

In the secondary the Owls return one of the top safeties in the Sun Belt in senior Macus Bartels, who finished third with 104 tackles and tied for the team lead with two interceptions in 2010. While Bartels is poised to be the leader of the defense, the rest of the secondary doesn’t look so good. Sophomores Keith Reaser and Treon Howard will likely open the season as the starting corner duo, while junior Demetrius Williamson steps in at strong safety. Neither of these three have much experience, as they combine for just four starts. The secondary will likely go from a strength in 2009 to a big weakness in 2010.

2011 Prediction: 7th Sun Belt – There isn’t a whole lot that has me excited about the Owls in 2011. While I have them rated ahead of both Louisiana and Western Kentucky, they beat each of these teams by just 1-point in 2010. These are the only two games I have the Owls winning in the Sun Belt, but wouldn’t be surprised if they lost both and finished last in the SBC.

Sun Belt Football Predictions by Team
Troy Football Predictions	Florida International Football Predictions
Arkansas State Football Predictions	Louisiana Monroe Football Predictions
Middle Tennessee State Football Predictions	North Texas Football Predictions
Western Kentucky Football Predictions	Louisiana Lafayette Football Predictions
Florida Atlantic Football Predictions

College Football Predictions
ACC Football Predictions	Big 12 Football Predictions
Conference USA Football Predictions	Independents Football Predictions
PAC 12 Football Predictions	SEC Football Predictions
Big East Football Predictions	Big Ten Football Predictions
MAC Football Predictions	Mountain West Football Predictions
Sun Belt Football Predictions	WAC Football Predictions

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