FAU football: Will Owls keep up success under Willie Taggart?

FAU football had a great run under Lane Kiffin, can they sustain it under Willie Taggart and win another conference title?

Florida Atlantic has only been around since 2004, but it has been a program that some thought had real potential due to its recruiting areas. FAU has nice facilities, it’s located in South Florida and the program has some money to throw around.

The program made a risky hire when it brought in Lane Kiffin in 2017, but it was a reward that paid big dividends as he took a program that had won nine games just once and delivered two 11-win seasons in his time in Boca Raton.

Now, Florida Atlantic is hoping that former Florida State head coach Willie Taggart can recapture some of his magic when he was the head coach of the South Florida Bulls. He’s an experienced recruiter in Florida and is bringing his well known energy to the program. The Owls are hoping it pays off in another double-digit win season and a conference title.

Last season started off on the wrong foot with blowout losses to eventual Big Ten champion Ohio State and UCF, but the Owls rallied to win 11 of the next 12 and won the Conference USA and blew out SMU in the Boca Raton Bowl.

The offense is returning all conference quarterback Chris Robison and should be electric once again. Taggart already got a big win by recruiting Jim Leavitt to be the defensive coordinator for the program. He was excellent under Taggart at Oregon and has always been well regarded as a defensive mind. He will have to replace a lot of starting experience on that side of the ball.

The Owls will be a tough team for anyone to beat in 2020.