Florida Atlantic
bringing knowledge

The young team’s coaching staff
rivals any other program’s

This is the first in a series of 12 articles on Hawaii's opponents for the 2004 football season. Today, Florida Atlantic.

Howard Schnellenberger has traveled a similar path before, and the results changed the face of college football.

The man directing a possible miracle-in-the-making at Florida Atlantic took over a dying Miami program in 1979. Four years later, he built a national championship team and the foundation of the juggernaut that now defines the game.

There's lots of football talent and lots of money to go around in south Florida, and no one's betting Schnellenberger can't do something similar at little FAU. He's off to a good start.

The difference from Miami is that the Owls started from scratch. In three years of playing football, FAU is 17-18, and went 11-3 last year in Division I-AA.

This year, the Owls are a conditional member of Division I-A's Sun Belt Conference.

"I never dreamt we'd be at the level we are now," Schnellenberger said. "Ten wins without a senior class is a work of great size and proportion."

A season-opening upset of Hawaii in 12 days would fall under that category, too. Despite the long road trip, Schnellenberger isn't intimidated. He's navigated longer ones.

"We took a Miami team to play a Notre Dame team in Japan. We went through Anchorage to get to Tokyo. At Louisville, we rode on the same plane with Syracuse to go play them in the Tokyo Dome. I'll tell the players to sit back, play Nintendo, relax and have fun. Traveling should be fun for these young guys. It takes its toll on us old guys," said Schnellenberger, who was born in 1934.

Schnellenberger said he doesn't know Hawaii coach June Jones very well, "But I am familiar with his body of work, and I have a lot of respect for him. Playing a team as talented as Hawaii is a treat we've never had."

Still, Schnellenberger-- a part of four national championship teams -- said he is not in awe of the Warriors' run-and-shoot offense.

"Everybody in Division I-AA throws. We have a lot of fast kids who know how to play pass defense. They can run and pursue," he said.

The best of the secondary is junior cornerback Willie Hughley (5-11, 170), who had five interceptions to go with 78 tackles last year.

Weakside linebacker Chris Laskowski is the Owls' top defensive playmaker. He's small (5-10, 212), but tough. He was in on 93 tackles in 2003, and played several games with a broken hand.

"He came to us as a walk-on, like 19 others who will travel to Hawaii," Schnellenberger said.

On offense, the main man is senior quarterback Jared Allen (6-3, 215). Schnellenberger compares him to his biggest Miami star, Jim Kelly, who went on to play for Jones early in his pro career.

"(Allen's) a leader. He went from the outhouse to the penthouse in one season. And he has a solid line now. He's a big, strong kid like Kelly. He can't run, but he's smart."

Allen threw at least one touchdown pass in every game last year, which is all the more impressive because FAU ran 554 times compared to 385 passes in 2003.

Senior Antonio Jackson (5-8, 185) is the biggest threat in a three-man running back committee. He netted 779 rushing yards last year with seven TDs.

Junior tight end Anthony Crissinger-Hill (6-3, 205) was Allen's favorite target last fall. He grabbed 74 passes for 1,134 yards and nine scores. Senior Dantson Dareus (6-5, 238) has had to fill in during camp, as Crissinger-Hill battles a shoulder injury.

FAU's biggest disadvantage against Division I-A teams is size and depth on the lines. The Owls are bereft of 300-pounders, and two-year starting center George Guffey (6-0, 258) is out for the season with a knee injury. Second-year freshman Jarrid Smith (6-2, 250) is being asked to fill the void.

Senior tackle Yrvens Guerrier (6-0, 265) was the Owls' steadiest front-wall defender last fall, starting all 14 games.

Senior kicker Mark Myers (6-2, 195) was a dependable 48 of 49 on PATs and 12 of 15 on field goals in 2003.

Schnellenberger's staff includes offensive coordinator Larry Seiple, who played on the Miami Dolphins' undefeated 1972 team -- a club for which Schnellenberger ran the offense. Also, former Texas-El Paso head coach Gary Nord is now the Owls' quarterbacks coach (he was on Schnellenberger's staff at Louisville), and will surely have some ideas on how to deal with the Warriors.

Florida Atlantic Owls

2003 Results
Date Opponent Result

Aug. 28	at Middle Tennessee State	W, 20-19
Sept. 6	Valdosta State	L, 45-17
Sept. 13	at Central Florida	L, 33-29
Sept. 20	at Youngstown State	W, 13-6
Sept. 27	at Illinois State	W, 28-10
Oct. 4	Texas State	W, 27-14
Oct. 11	Nicholls State	W, 31-23
Oct. 18	Northern Colorado	W, 21-19
Nov. 1	Gardner-Webb	W, 31-26
Nov. 15	Siena	W, 51-3
Nov. 22	at Florida International	W, 32-23
Nov. 29	Bethune-Cookman	W, 32-24
Dec. 6	at Northern Arizona	W, 48-25
Dec. 13	Colgate	L, 36-24

2004 Schedule
Date Opponent

Sept. 4	at Hawaii
Sept. 11	at North Texas
Sept. 18	at Middle Tennessee State
Sept. 25	Illinois State
Oct. 9	at Texas State
Oct. 16	at Northern Colorado
Oct. 23	Louisiana-Monroe
Oct. 30	at Florida A&M
Nov. 6	at Troy State
Nov. 13	New Mexico State
Nov. 20	at Florida International
Nov. 27	Edward Waters