The Florida Atlantic Owls enter Year 1 of Tom Herman as the school’s head football coach, and he’ll have a familiar face starting at quarterback.
According ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, Florida Atlantic is naming Casey Thompson starting quarterback for the 2023 season.
Sources: FAU is naming Casey Thompson, a transfer from Nebraska and Texas, as the school’s starting quarterback. He has started 20 college games – 10 at Texas and 10 at Nebraska – and led the Big 12 with 24 touchdown passes in 2021.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) August 21, 2023
As Thamel notes, Thompson previously played quarterback at Nebraska (2022) and Texas (2019-21), starting 20 games in his college football career.
Herman was head coach at Texas from 2017-20, so he and Thompson were Longhorns together in 2019 and 2020.
In 2021, Thompson threw for 2,113 yards and a Big 12-leading 24 touchdown passes (and nine interceptions). He also ran for 157 yards and four touchdowns.
Thompson transferred to Nebraska and the Big Ten ahead of the 2022 season. He went to throw for a career-high 2,407 yards with the Cornhuskers, to go with 17 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a career-high five rushing touchdowns.
In May, Thompson — a former four-star recruit — announced that he was transferring to Florida Atlantic for his final year of eligibility.
The Owls have gone 5-7 in consecutive seasons, but with the high-profile additions of Herman and Thompson, they may be able to make a big jump in 2023.
Florida Atlantic will open its season with home games against Monmouth and Ohio before going on the road to take on No. 9 Clemson on Sept. 16.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.