FAU coach Schnellenberger has experience across the board

Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger has a rich history of building programs.

He made dramatic improvements, cultivating a winning culture at Miami and Louisville.

He created Florida Atlantic’s program out of nothing, then turned it into a two-time, bowl-winning FCS school.

Now, he’s bringing his Owls to town to take on Nebraska in the first game of the 2009 season.

“Obviously, Nebraska is a quintessential collegiate football team, and we are pleased and honored to play them,” Schnellenberger said.

Schnellenberger’s team has opted to play top-tier competition every year it’s been in the FCS (formerly Division I). Last year, FAU opened up with Texas, and in 2007 they played at Oklahoma State.

Schnellenberger said his team isn’t afraid of a challenge, but it keeps reasonable expectations. He admits the possibility of a win this weekend is remote.

“We don’t have 100 years of tradition,” Schnellenberger said. “We are not the only D-1 team in the state of Florida. We don’t have five national championships.”

But even if winning seems impossible, the coach still has things he wants to see.

“It’s the kind of a game that, if we play hard and play well, we will not have lost,” Schnellenberger said. “We will have accomplished a great thing.”

NU athletic director Tom Osborne faced Schnellenberger twice during his coaching career and knows he’ll bring a tough team to Lincoln.

“Howard’s a solid coach, and I think he’ll get them to play hard,” Osborne said. “They’ll have enough good players that if things go right, they can beat you.”

Rough Beginning

Schnellenberger knows Florida Atlantic has accomplished a great deal already in its nine years of existence, and he’s always been the driving force behind it.

“I had to be with it from before the start,” Schnellenberger said.  “We had to start off by raising money to hire coaches, and no one was prepared to do that.”

FAU didn’t have a player base to build off of.

“There wasn’t no male to hang a jock strap on,” Schnellenberger said.

The program held open tryouts in 2000 and started practicing a year early in preparation for its inaugural season in 2001.

Recruiting improved as the program grew because of his philosophy of redshirting freshmen.

“Instead of being 6-foot-6 and 290 (pounds), we get 6-foot-4 and 215,” he said. “But we redshirt them all, and we get that extra year at the end. They may grow an inch.”

In 2003, the Owls made it to the Division 1-AA playoffs. By 2004, Schnellenberger had begun the transition into Division 1-A, and the Owls were accepted into the Sun Belt Conference.

“Thank God for the Sun Belt conference,” he said. “We wouldn’t have a football team without the Sun Belt Conference.”

At the time Florida Atlantic was looking to move up, the Sun Belt was the only conference accepting new members. 

Florida Atlantic quickly made its mark on the conference in 2007, going 6-1 in league play. The Owls capped the season with a bowl berth and win over Memphis. Last season, Florida Atlantic took down Central Michigan in the Motor City Bowl.

Becoming a Household Name

In the program’s eight years, it has never had a player drafted into the NFL. That could all change with Rusty Smith.

Smith holds most of the programs passing records. In his career, he has thrown for 8,197 yards and 62 touchdowns. In the Motor City Bowl against Central Michigan, Smith went 20-for-35 for 306 yards and two touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP.

Schnellenberger touts Smith as the face of his program.

“He will be the first player we’ve had drafted,” Schnellenberger said.

NU coach Bo Pelini respects Smith’s talent.

“I think he is an outstanding football player,” he said. “I think he’s a Big 12-caliber quarterback.  I know the NFL guys will really like this guy. He’s got a really strong arm. He’s a good decision maker. He’s a good football player.

“You can cut it any way you want it, he can play,” Pelini said.

Schnellenberger said Smith is as good as the other great quarterbacks he coaches at Miami and Louisville.

“He’s right there with (Bernie) Kosar, (Jim) Kelly, Vinny (Testaverde) and Jay Gruden,” he said. “These were all kids that were good enough and had an opportunity to play at the national level.”

Schnellenberger’s long-term plans may not include Smith, but he is using the excitement around the quarterback and the program to build a new stadium.

“Our stadium will be in place in 2011,” he said. “We’ll put a 30,000-seat stadium up and put in the additional seats after the 2011 season. By 2012, we’ll have 40,000.”

Florida Atlantic currently averages attendance between 14,000 and 15,000.

Schnellenberger hopes the new stadium will help drive some new fan support for his program. Change has been slow, though, because the program is still new.

“It’s difficult to change their social habits on Saturday to attend a football game in Boca Raton,” Schnellenberger said. “There had been no college football played between Coral Gables and Tampa. Saturday’s have been for the beach.”

Despite the low attendance figures, Schnellenberger has been impressed by the support of FAU’s students.

“We’ve had a quicker response by the students than at Miami or Louisville,” Schnellenberger said. “The alumni and the general population have been slower to respond to us.”

Never the Favorite

Schnellenberger knows about being an underdog.

After all, it was his 1983 Miami team that upset No. 1 and previously undefeated Nebraska 31-30 in the Orange Bowl.

“We were fairly heavily favored, but if you look at NFL prospects, they didn’t have an empty hand to play,” Osborne said. “They played well.”

Nebraska was down by 14 points before its Turner Gill-led offense roared back to score two touchdowns. Down by one, Osborne made the decision to go for the win instead of tying the game. Gill’s throw was batted down, and the Huskers lost.

“At the time, they didn’t realize it – and maybe we didn’t realize it either – but (the game) stuck in many people’s minds for many reasons,” Osborne said.

“That game will never be forgotten,” Schnellenberger said. “It’s been chronicled that it is the greatest game ever played in the Orange Bowl by the Orange Bowl people themselves.”

It was the first national championship for Miami but the last game Schnellenberger would coach for the program. He took a job as the head coach of what would have been a South Florida USFL team.

The league intended to play in the spring, but when the decision was made to instead play in the fall, the South Florida team lost its financial support, and Schnellenberger’s job fell through.

He eventually coached and built up the Louisville program, and Miami moved on without him and won four more titles.

“For a college football team to do that with five different coaches is really unique,” Schnellenberger said. “There is a legacy at the University of Miami that is built on local players.”

It’s a legacy that started with him.

“(Other Miami coaches) didn’t really focus on South Florida,” Schnellenberger said. “We established the state as a major recruiting area. That was a major effort at Miami that made the difference.”

Schnellenberger said the in-state competition is now really fierce as 350 D-1 recruits come out of Florida.

“We’ve got seven schools,” He said. “Even now, the state schools can only bring in 150 kids. The other 200 some play elsewhere.”

Years of Experience

At 75 years old, Schnellenberger is joined by Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden as the grandfathers that remain in the college game.

Schnellenberger has been coaching since 1959. He took a three-year break after a stint at Oklahoma. He worked as a stock broker during that time but came back to football when Florida Atlantic called with an opportunity.

“It’s a lot of years to be coaching, and he’s moved around some,” Osborne said. “He’s always got a project. You’ve got to admire the guy for starting over as many times that he has.”

The coach would rather have another project than walk away from the game.

“Retirement is not an option,” Schnellenberger said. “I’m sure Bobby, Joe and myself all feel the same way. We have the capacity to teach football to young men. There is nothing that we’d rather be doing.”

He explained the secret of their success.

“We’ve got wonderful wives that will go along with their husbands,” Schnellenberger said.

MICHAELSCHAEFER@DAILYNEBRASKAN.COM