FIU Continues To Build After Record Setting Season With Florida Grown Talent

Posted on August 8, 2019 by Marcus Benjamin

Miami, FL —  Head Coach Butch Davis took over the program in 2017 and knew then the Golden Panthers were a rebuilding project.  Davis happens to specialize in rebuilding as he rebuilt the Miami Hurricanes and North Carolina Tar Heels in the 90s and 2000s.  His third project is well on course after two consecutive bowl appearances, a first in FIU history.  

In his first season as FIU head coach, he turned around a previous 4-8 season to 8-5 and lost to Temple in the Gasparilla Bowl.  Last year the Panthers finished the season with a team-record nine wins and were able to win their second-ever bowl game defeating Toledo 35-32 in the Bahamas Bowl. 

So what’s next for FIU? At today’s FIU Media Day at Riccardo Silva Stadium, Coach Davis wants his team to forget about 2018.  

“The message that I’ve told them beginning back in Spring is 2018 doesn’t matter,” said Coach Davis.  “I don’t care if we won 20 games last year or didn’t win any this is all about 2019, it’s about this team.”

This team brings back plenty of veterans to challenge for a Conference USA championship with most of the roster from the state of Florida. 

A total of 86 players are from the sunshine state with Georgia having the second-most with four. All-Conference first-team selections Sage Lewis (Monsignor Pace) (Miami) and Maurice Alexander (Miami Booker T. Washington) are a couple of the play-making Florida natives looking to supersede their performance of 2018.  Alexander made a huge difference for FIU on special teams.

From Left to Right: All-Conference USA First Team members linebacker Sage Lewis and WR/PR Maurice Alexander

“He made a big emphasis on [special teams],” said first-team All-Conference USA punt returner Alexander of Coach Davis.  “We were like second to last in punt return yards. We practiced hard at it. He was getting on people each and every day and we ended up being first in our conference.” 

The kicking game is special with kicker Jose Borregales (Miami Booker T. Washington), a Lou Groza semifinalist.  He went 26 of 29 on field goals last season including a 53-yarder which is a team record.

The offense is led by James Morgan (Ashwaubenon, WI) at quarterback, one of the rare non-Florida natives on the team.  The transfer from Bowling Green State University led the conference with a team-record passer efficiency rating of 157.6 and with a big 2019 season, Morgan could be a late-round NFL draft pick.  FIU had the number one scoring offense in the conference putting up 34.6 points a game and there are no signs of this high-powered offense slowing down. A total of 102 records have been broken or tied since Davis took the helm.

“It’s great to have a quarterback like him around,” said senior wide receiver Austin Maloney (Miami Columbus).  “He really inspires us as all as a receiving corps.”

The senior pass-catching corps of Maloney, Alexander and Tony Gaiter (Westminister Christian, Palmetto Bay) will be a lethal combination of Florida speed and experience.  Senior offensive tackle Dallas Connell (First Coast, Jacksonville) anchors an offensive line with D’Antne Demery (Brunswick, GA) and Shane McGough (Gaither, Tampa) all of whom earned honorable mentions for Conference USA.

There will also be a wealth of experience in the backfield with redshirt seniors Napoleon Maxwell (Admiral Farragut, St. Petersburg) and Anthony Jones (Miami Central) at running back.

Jones along with offensive lineman Mershawn Miller (Miami Central) survived gunshot wounds in a drive-by shooting last Fall.  Jones is happy to still be able to play in front of his friends and family in Miami for FIU home games.

“It’s one of the best feelings ever,” said Jones when describing playing in his home town.  “To have my mom at each and every game. It’s nothing like hometown support. When football is over I want to be able to cherish the moments with my family.  Playing in front of my high school coaches and friends is a great feeling.”

The defensive backfield will have to deal with the loss of defensive back Emmanuel Lubin (North Miami Beach) who died in a car accident last month.  

“He was a hard worker, a great teammate and was respected and loved by his teammates, coaches and staff at FIU. His character, work ethic, and leadership were instrumental in leading our program to success these past two seasons. Our football program is mourning his loss and we will honor Emmanuel every day moving forward. Our hearts and prayers go out to his friends and family,” said Davis in a statement after the incident.

Davis also stated that the lack of depth in the secondary is a big issue and that some of the younger guys may have to step in and play big roles early.  The Panthers did, however, get Josh Turner (American Heritage, Delray) a grad transfer from the University of Iowa that will eligible to play immediately.  Turner will be a nice add to a seniors Stantley Thomas-Oliver (Charlotte), Olin Cusion (Miami Central) and Ike Brown (Tampa Bay Tech).

“He played at corner, he played nickel at Iowa.  It’s a great fit for us,” said Davis. “He’s got some experience because he played last year for Iowa.”

FIU also adds grad transfer defensive lineman Damon Moore from San Diego State (San Maron, CA) to join senior Noah Curtis (American Heritage Delray) and Teair Tart (West Philadelphia, PA) on the D-Line.  Perhaps the most important defender is senior linebacker Sage Lewis. Lewis registered 132 tackles including 83 solo tackles in 2018 and says the mentality of the team has changed over the years.

“We definitely had talent those first few years,” said Lewis.  “The mentality of wanting to win and doing the right thing on and off the field wasn’t the main focus. We call it living right.”

FIU will host “Meet the Panthers on Sunday, August 25th at Riccardo Silva Stadium from 6-7 PM.  Members of the FIU football team will be present to sign autographs and take pictures with attendees of the event. 

FIU will open the season at Tulane on Thursday, August 29th at 8:00 PM.  The Golden Panthers’ home opener is will be Saturday, September 7th at 7:00 PM against Western Kentucky.  FIU is scheduled to play their rival FAU Saturday, November 9th at home and the Miami Hurricanes November, 23rd at Marlins Park.

 

About Marcus Benjamin

Marcus Benjamin works as the senior writer and editor for FootballHotbed.com. He attended Florida A&M and Florida Memorial University completing a bachelors degree in communications in 2010. He's covered high school football in the South Florida area since 2010 for the Miami Herald, Miami Sports Tribune and ShawSports.net. He is married and lives in Fort, Lauderdale, FL.
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