FAU's Secret Weapon

Back before the school existed, the current site of Florida Atlantic University was an Army Airfield, home to as many as 16,000 soldiers during the Second World War. A decade after the Allies were victorious, the site was transformed into the institution who's football team Tech team travels to face on Friday night.

But the Boca Raton Air Field wasn't just any air base.

Going into WWII, the concept of radar and how to use it was still being worked out. But once the technology was ready for wartime use, Boca Raton became the single place where planes were outfitted and pilots were taught about this new concept.

This football team's secret weapon, however, deals with a different kind of air defense.

With the exception of RB Singletary, the Owl's biggest strengths all reside on the defensive side of the ball.

Even with the injury to 2017 All-CUSA First Team LB Azeez Al-Shaair, the linebacking corps is still very solid, now led by Rashad Smith. The junior has already tallied 4.5 tackles-for-loss and 3 interceptions on the year.

The defensive backs are even more impressive for Florida Atlantic. Chris Tooley and Shelton Lewis return for the Owls, each have an INT through six games. The duo have also combined for 5.5 tackles-for-loss at this halfway point.

But although Tooley and Lewis each have an interception, possibly the most impressive member of the defensive backfield has a zero in that column: James Pierre, this week's secret weapon.

Pierre earned a three star ranking out of Deerfield Beach (FL) High School, originally committing to North Carolina. Soon after, Pierre decommitted from UNC and chose instead to sign a letter of intent with fellow ACC school Syracuse. The safety was ruled academically illegible for 2016, which is how he found his way playing 15 minutes down the road from his high school the following year.

As a freshman, Pierre played in 12 games, finishing with a solid (but not spectacular) stat line: 21 total tackles, 1.5 of which were for a loss.

This year, Pierre has improved by leaps and bounds. At the halfway point of this season, the sophomore has recorded 26 total tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, and a forced fumble. Most impressively, Pierre has broken up four passes, doubling his 2017 total, and bringing him to 2nd on the team.

So just like at the Air Field that existed in the same spot many years ago, the ability to defend the air has been figured out by the group in Boca Raton. But this time with the help of safety James Pierre.

But maybe this Tech team will be able to limit their mistakes and establish the run game to keep Pierre (and the rest of the FAU defensive backs) out of the game in this rare Friday night match-up in south Florida. But on the other hand, maybe we'll see something like this:

Nathan is also a contributor to gtpdd.dog, a lighthearted Louisiana Tech blog. Be sure to follow @gotechplsdntdie on Twitter.