FAU linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt leads the Owls through a spring practice. (Owl Access photo)
Dewitt and wisdom
Meet The New Staff: FAU linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt is the third coach on the Owls coaching staff who was a defensive coordinator last season.
Originally published on
7/20/2012
by
Marcus Nelson
BOCA RATON - Florida Atlantic linebackers coach Jovan Dewitt wasn't on a previous staff with Carl Pelini or any of the other FAU assistant coaches.
Pelini's favorable opinion of Dewitt was formed on Dewitt's job interview, when he impressed Pelini with his mental approach to football.
"He's very cerebral – a very very smart guy," Pelini said. "He's a really good teacher."
Dewitt is the third assistant coach on the new staff who was a defensive coordinator last season joining Pelini (Nebraska) and FAU defensive coordinator Pete Rekstis (Miami-Ohio).
Dewitt is confident his defensive philosophy will fit in with what Pelini and Rekstis have planned.
“It's been a great learning process so far,” Dewitt said. “You learn a lot from the coaches that have been hired here.”
Pelini is confident Dewitt will fit in to the Owls' system.
"We're not going to do things exeactly like we did at Nebraska, but the philosophy is going to be the same," Pelini said. "He fell within that philosphy and that approach."
Last season Northern Iowa's defense finished tied for No. 51 in total defense, allowing 352.5 yards per game.
When Dewitt was offered the job at FAU, he was eager to accept based on the potential he sees for the Owls' program.
“Coaches are control fanatics, but there are some things a coach can't control,” DeWitt said. “That's the geography of a school, the natural resources available to that school and the history of that school. Once I combined all of those things from what I saw of FAU, it became not 'Do I want to go there?' but 'do they want me there?' That made it very easy to come to FAU. When you look at what FAU has to offer recruits, it makes you feel really good about the future.”