When Zach Kittley addressed the media at the American Athletic Conference Football Media Days, one message surfaced repeatedly.
Continuity.
After navigating the challenges of rebuilding a program during his first season at Florida Atlantic, Kittley believes the Owls enter Year 2 with something every coach covets in today’s college football landscape: stability.
“I’m really excited about our football program heading into the 2026 season,” Kittley said. “The two words we’ve talked about all offseason are retention and continuity.”
Those two words define FAU’s outlook entering the new season.
Unlike a year ago, when the Owls were forced to rebuild their roster through multiple transfer portal windows, FAU returns one of the American Athletic Conference’s most experienced teams. The Owls also retained their entire coaching staff, a rarity in the current era of college football.
“We’ve been able to retain so much production on both sides of the football,” Kittley said. “I’m extremely proud that we were able to keep our best players. It’s also pretty rare these days to bring your entire coaching staff back, and that’s been special for us.”
Leading the way is senior quarterback Caden Veltkamp, whom Kittley praised as one of the team’s unquestioned leaders.
“He’s an unbelievable leader and an unbelievable ambassador for our football program,” Kittley said. “He’s a great teammate and someone everybody respects.”
Joining Veltkamp at Media Days was defensive tackle C.J. Doggette, another team captain Kittley described as an outstanding representative of the program.
With so much experience returning, expectations inside the program have risen considerably.
“High expectations,” Kittley said. “We have a lot more continuity this year and a lot less chaos than we did a year ago.
“We’ve got our starting quarterback back, several big-time players returning, and all of our All-Conference players from last season are back. There’s a lot of production returning to this football team.”
Kittley believes the biggest difference from last season isn’t just experience—it’s maturity.
“A lot of maturity,” he said. “Last year we spent months building relationships, then had players leave and had to replace them. Not having to go through all of that again has allowed this team to become much closer.
“Our players understand what we’re trying to accomplish, and I think that’s going to take us a long way.”
While FAU returns plenty of skill-position talent, Kittley pointed to the offensive and defensive lines as the units that will ultimately determine the Owls’ success.
Borrowing a phrase from Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, Kittley called the line of scrimmage the “tip of the spear.”
“The offensive line and defensive line have to be the tip of the spear for us,” he said. “It certainly helps having one of the best quarterbacks in the country back, but we’ve also surrounded him with more talent, and those two units are going to be key to our success.”
Kittley also highlighted wide receiver Omari Hayes, one of the conference’s most explosive playmakers.
“He’s a dynamic football player,” Kittley said. “There are times as a quarterback where the best thing you can do is find No. 8 and get him the football. He can change a game at any moment.
“But what I love most is who he is as a person. That’s what makes him special.”
The second-year head coach also discussed his philosophy on recruiting, emphasizing that character outweighs talent during the evaluation process.
“We recruit the person before the player,” Kittley said. “We spend a lot of time doing character evaluations because relationships matter. I’m a relationship-based coach. The better I know our players, the stronger those relationships become, and that’s what helps you when adversity hits.”
Despite the optimism surrounding FAU, Kittley knows the path through the American Athletic Conference won’t be easy.
“It’s a tough league every single week,” he said. “You’ve got South Florida, Memphis, Tulane, Army, Navy, East Carolina—there are a lot of really good football teams. Every week is going to be a dogfight. I think it’s a wide-open league this year.”
One of the marquee games on FAU’s schedule will again be its in-state conference matchup against South Florida.
While Kittley acknowledged the rivalry carries extra meaning for fans, he knows its importance extends well beyond bragging rights.
“It’s definitely a big game,” he said. “It’s an in-state game and a conference game. USF has had a lot of success. It’s one of the biggest games on our schedule every year.”
After a season spent laying the foundation, Kittley believes FAU now has the stability, experience, and leadership necessary to compete for an American Athletic Conference championship.
For the Owls, the rebuilding phase appears complete. Now comes the opportunity to prove that continuity can translate into victories.