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BOCA RATON – The time for rest is over.
The Owls returned to the practice field on Thursday after two days off, turning their attention to Akron in preparation for Tuesday’s Boca Raton Bowl.
“We’re completely into the game now,” coach Lane Kiffin said.
Final exams and coaches out of town on recruiting trips restricted FAU’s ability to practice since defeating North Texas in the Conference USA championship game on Dec. 2.
While many coaches use the extra practices afforded bowl teams to develop players for future seasons, Kiffin and the Owls adopted a different approach.
“We ended up deciding on not practicing a ton,” Kiffin said. “That was just really making sure we were getting our guys back and also making sure that you don’t get some setbacks injury-wise. We did not use it as much for the future as much for making sure that we’re right for this game.”
Akron enters the Boca Raton Bowl with a 7-6 record, having lost to Toledo in the MAC championship game.
“I’m sure this is a huge game for these guys,” Kiffin said. “They’ve got a ton of Florida people on their roster. Their back seven [on defense], five of the seven are Florida kids. They are going to play really hard, like they always do.”
The Zips wouldn’t have reached the Boca Raton Bowl without the play of quarterback Kato Nelson. A redshirt freshman, Nelson became the starting quarterback when Akron suspended senior Tommy Woodson. He remained the starter even after Woodson’s return.
A threat through the air and on the ground, Nelson’s thrown for 909 yards and eight touchdowns against two interceptions. With 177 rushing yards, he’s also the Zips’ fourth-leading rusher.
A graduate of Pembroke Pines-Flanagan high school, Nelson nearly ended up at FAU.
In 2015 when Charlie Partridge was FAU’s coach, Nelson made an official visit to FAU despite being an Akron commit. He enjoyed the visit enough that he was on the verge of flipping to FAU, touching off a feud within his family about which school he would attend.
Nelson ultimately sided with his mother, choosing Akron.
“When (Partridge) got the job, he jumped on and he’s a good recruiter too, and he got on them real quick and all the sudden there’s a lot of people in (Nelson’s) family that wanted him to play close by,” Akron coach Terry Bowden said.
Had Nelson chosen FAU, he likely would have been the fourth entrant in the Owls’ preseason quarterback battle. Daniel Parr won the starting job out of camp, but Jason Driskel reclaimed the starting role in the fourth game of the season and, after losing to Buffalo, led FAU to nine consecutive wins.
Instead, Nelson entered the season as Akron’s quarterback of the future. He’s now the quarterback of the present.
“I don’t think FAU’s complaining about the quarterback they have and we’re surely not complaining about Kato,” Bowden said.
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