The Nick Internicola that Florida Atlantic has seen on the field this fall looks different than the one from previous seasons. So does the one off it.
The redshirt junior defensive end is healed from a leg injury that dogged him in the past, a malady that forced him to miss spring practice, he said. Across the last five months, though, he has gained a new companion: a dark brown, bushy beard that spills from under his chinstrap and curls with sweat after an August practice.
"I was never able to grow a beard before," said Internicola, who plans to keep the beard throughout the season.