FAU safety CJ Heard plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

FAU star freshman safety CJ Heard is expected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Heard was the Owls’ leading tackler this season, racking up 73 tackles and a forced fumble.

He tallied three tackles in his debut against Michigan State. And he’s also had double-digit tackles in a number of contests this year, including Army and UConn. Against the Huskies, Heard racked up 12 tackles. In high school, he played at Woodward Academy, where he racked up 222 total tackles, 152 solo tackles, and 15 tackles for loss.

In addition to being offered by FAU coming out of high school, he also considered offers from Liberty, ECU and Florida State. While Heard had an excellent season in 2024, FAU struggled mightily, posting one of the worst records in all of college football.

The Owls only won two games this year (FIU and Wagner).

FAU head football coach Tom Herman was recently fired

There’s been a lot of changes at FAU, including head football coach Tom Herman was recently fired.

FAU would be paying a buyout of $4.1 million to move on from Herman.

This comes after Herman had recently been in search of an offensive coordinator job somewhere in the Power Four per Pete Nakos. Through two seasons in Boca Raton, Herman posted a record of 6-16 with a 3-11 mark in the AAC. That includes a current mark this season of 2-8 while being winless through six games and dead-last because of that during conference play in the American.