Florida Atlantic’s redshirt sophomore quarterback avoids turnovers, takes step forward in quarterback battle

BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic head coach Lane Kiffin said he wasn’t surprised by the "sloppiness" he saw in the Owls’ first fall camp scrimmage Saturday afternoon at FAU Stadium.

"You come into the stadium, even though it’s not a crowd … more penalties, more turnovers than what we’ve been doing in practice," Kiffin said. "That part’s discouraging."

FAU struggled with penalties and early turnovers — quarterbacks Justin Agner and Nick Tronti’s first drives ended in interceptions — before the offense eventually found its groove. FAU was at its best when redshirt sophomore and incumbent starter Chris Robison, the third quarterback to take reps Saturday, took the field.

Robison and Tronti took most of the reps Saturday. Agner, a junior college transfer who began his career at Kent State, threw only five passes before departing early; Kiffin said Agner was sick.

Five things we learned from FAU’s first fall camp scrimmage.

1. Robison remains early frontrunner in quarterback battle: We’re the first to say we’ve been wrong about FAU’s quarterbacks before. But over a week into camp, Robison has been the most consistent quarterback and is on track to start against Ohio State on Aug. 31.

Robison unofficially finished 6-of-10 for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Tronti completed four of his 11 passes for 57 yards, two interceptions and a touchdown to John Raine. Agner hit only one of his five passes for seven yards and an interception.

"We gotta get better, including myself," Robison said. "We had a lot of busts, we had a lot of people not straining to finish, we didn’t have a good enough tempo and it just showed."

2. Defense continues to force turnovers: Ballhawking redshirt freshman safety Teja Young was held without an interception, but starting safety Da’Von Brown and reserve corner Diashun Moss picked off passes on the afternoon’s first two drives. Even 300-pound defensive tackle Noah Jefferson got in on the fun, picking off Tronti late in the scrimmage.

3. BJ Emmons breaks out: A former Alabama enrollee, Emmons arrived in January as one of the most touted recruits in program history. The junior running back hasn’t quite clinched the Owls’ starting job — redshirt junior James Charles had the better spring and has impressed over the last week — but Emmons showed flashes Saturday, turning a short pass into a 51-yard touchdown.

Emmons called the touchdown a "boost of confidence."

"I feel like I did alright, from how far I came from being here only eight months," Emmons said.

4. Kickers are perfect: If Saturday was an indicator of how FAU’s kickers will fare this year … well, there’s still work to do. But it was a positive sign to see incumbent kicker Vladi Rivas and Furman transfer Aaron Shahriari make all three of their combined field goals. Rivas hit both of his kicks from 41 and 39 yards, while Shahriari’s 48-yard kick barely went through the uprights.

5. An injury-free scrimmage: Aside from Agner, FAU managed to escape Saturday unscathed on the injury front. That’s a positive sign as FAU waits for right tackle Calvin Ashley (illness) and center Jake Jones (undisclosed) to make their camp debuts. True freshman receiver Eyin Cole has also been limited in recent days with an undisclosed injury.

Follow @JakeElman97 on Twitter