FAU Football: Previewing the Quarterbacks

With the Owls’ season-opener being less than three months away, the UP will evaluate each position group on the roster. Today, we will look at the quarterback position. The quarterback is arguably the most important position in football. The man behind center is the captain of the offense, responsible for making plays and scoring points. Because of this being the most important position on any football team, and that last year’s starter N’Kosi Perry heading to the pros, there are multiple contenders for this position. One player expected to win the starting position is the most recent addition to the roster–redshirt senior Casey Thompson. Transferring from the University of Nebraska on May 10, Thompson brings experience playing for a prestigious football program and playing at a national level. Thompson will also be reuniting with former head coach at the University of Texas at Austin, Tom Herman. With Herman, Thompson has participated in several bowl games that Herman and the Longhorns won in the past. With Nebraska, Thompson threw 17 touchdowns and 2,407 passing yards. He’s completed over 63% of his passes. Another player competing for the starting position is junior Daniel Richardson, transferring from Central Michigan University. Richardson has had more experience working with the offense this offseason than Thompson had. Richardson especially played in the 2023 Spring Game. In his last year with Central Michigan, Richardson threw for 1,988 yards for 15 touchdowns and five interceptions, with a quarterback rating of 41.7. Richardson is a native of Miami and will be returning to South Florida. Two veterans in the Owls’ quarterback room are redshirt junior Michael Johnson, Jr. and redshirt sophomore Tyriq Starks. Johnson didn’t see the field the past two seasons since transferring from Pennsylvania State University in 2020. Starks didn’t see much of the field nor take any snaps during his time with the Owls. Two other additions for the Owls came from Signing Day are graduate transfer Ben Ballard and freshman Luke Rucker. Another former Longhorn, Ballard only played one game in his final year with the Longhorns. Rucker is a three-star quarterback from Seminole High School and ranked 98th in his category. With the departures of Perry and backup Willie Taggart, Jr., there will be a new face for the Owls. Herman has coached some big name quarterbacks who have made it to the pros, from Cardale Jones to D’Eriq King to Sam Ehlinger. Choosing the starting quarterback and finding “the guy” will be very important for this new-look Owls as FAU will be playing for the American Athletic Conference.