Players’ Choice

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BOCA RATON – FAU players elected Kalib Woods, a wide receiver with two pending felony battery charges, one of their four team captains for the season, which will conclude on Tuesday with a Boca Raton Bowl appearance against Akron.

Sophomore Running back Devin Singletary, junior linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and junior safety Jalen Young join Woods as captains.

FAU coach Lane Kiffin said he thought it was “Pretty neat that they voted him captain based off only really being here half the year – playing half the year. It says a lot about their respect for him.”



Under first-year coach Lane Kiffin, the Owls waited to name their captains for the season until the regular season was complete rather than doing so prior to the season, making the role an award for leadership throughout the season rather than a projection regarding which players were thought to be the best leaders.

“Obviously a very good group of leaders,” Kiffin said. “Those will be the permanent captains for the team.”

FAU suspended Woods, a redshirt senior, for the first six games of the season for his alleged role in a fight at an off-campus party that resulted in the hospitalization of two FAU students. Woods pleaded not guilty to the charges. His next scheduled court date is Feb. 28.

The Owls rescinded Woods’ scholarship but he remained a member of the football team as a walk-on.

Woods played seven games, starting the final six, catching 20 passes for 540 yards – an average of 27.0 yards per catch. His four touchdown catches are tied for the second most on the Owls.



One of those scores came in the Dec. 2 Conference USA championship victory, when he caught six passes for 208 yards, earning game MVP honors.

Singletary, Conference USA’s MVP and an AP third-team All-American, leads the nation with 29 rushing touchdowns. Only four players in NCAA history rushed for more in one season. With 1,796 rushing yards on the season, Singletary has a chance to reach the 2,000 yard mark on the season. He already has four games with more than 200 rushing yards.

Al-Shaair and Young both earned All-Conference USA honors. Despite missing one game with an injury, Al-Shaair still led Conference USA in tackles with 134. Only three players nationally compiled more tackles than Al-Shaair.

Young is tied for the lead nationally in interceptions with seven. His 70 tackles are third most among Owls.