- LOCATION: Miami, Florida (population 442,241)
- 2022 RECORD: 4-8, 2-6 in CUSA
- 2023 PREDICTION: 7th in CUSA
- HEAD COACH: Mike MacIntyre, 2nd season (4-8, 2-6 in CUSA, 50-73 overall)
- STADIUM: Alfonso Field at Riccardo Silva Stadium (opened 1995, capacity 20,000)
2022 Results
- W, 38-37 (OT) vs Bryant
- L, 21-41 @ Texas State
- L, 0-73 @ Western Kentucky
- W, 21-7 @ New Mexico State
- L, 12-33 vs Connecticut
- L, 10-30 vs UTSA
- W, 34-15 @ Charlotte
- W, 42-24 (2 OTs) vs Louisiana Tech
- L, 14-52 @ North Texas
- L, 7-52 vs Florida Atlantic
- L, 6-40 @ UTEP
- L, 28-33 vs Middle Tennessee
2023 Schedule
- Aug. 26 @ Louisiana Tech
- Sept. 2 vs Maine
- Sept. 9 vs North Texas
- Sept. 16 @ Connecticut
- Sept. 28 vs Liberty
- Oct. 4 @ New Mexico State
- Oct. 11 vs UTEP
- Oct. 18 @ Sam Houston
- Oct. 25 vs Jacksonville State
- Nov. 11 @ Middle Tennessee
- Nov. 18 @ Arkansas
- Nov. 25 vs Western Kentucky
Bold indicates CUSA game.
2023 Recruiting Class – High School
- Keyone Jenkins, QB (Miami Central HS – Florida)
- Jamari Holliman, S (Miami Norland HS – Florida)
- Kyle McNeal, WR (Dwyer HS – West Palm Beach, Florida)
- Luby Maurice Jr., WR (Palm Beach Central HS – Florida)
- A.J. Cobb, DE (Frostproof HS – Florida)
- Jaheim Buchanon, OL (Lehigh Sr. HS – Lehigh Acres, Florida)
- Braiden Staten, TE (Green Hill HS – Mt. Juliet, Tennessee)
- Toddrick Brewton, DE (Miami Northwestern HS – Florida)
- Landon Hale, S (Yulee HS – Florida)
- Mister Clarke, CB (Miami Carol City HS – Florida)
- Preston Thompson, S (Moore Haven HS – Florida)
- Rowdy Beers, TE (Valor Christian HS – Littleton, Colorado)
- Victor Evans III, CB (Monsignor Pace HS – Opa Locka, Florida)
- Daniel Michel, OL (Dillard HS – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
- Mykeal Rabess, OL (Miami Norland HS – Florida)
- Atavious Weaver, LB (North Ft. Myers HS – Florida)
2023 Recruiting Class – Transfer Portal
- Shomari Lawrence, RB (South Dakota/Pompano Beach, Florida)
- Elijah Anderson-Taylor, LB (Northern Colorado/Aurora, Colorado)
- JoJo Evans, S (Kent State/Palm Beach Gardens, Florida)*
- Claude Larkins, DE (NC State/Hollywood, Florida)
- Bobby Salla Jr., S (Temple/Delray Beach, Florida)
- Avery Huff, LB (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
- Christian Pedersen, TE (Louisville/San Mateo, California)
- Eric Rivers, WR (Memphis/Chattanooga, Tennessee)
- Travis Burke, OL (Gardner-Webb/Hollywood, Florida)
- J.T. Anderson, CB (Bryant/Tampa, Florida)
- Jack Daly, DT (Bryant/Glastonbury, Connecticut)
- Ladarian Paulk, CB (Memphis/Apopka, Florida)**
- Jackson Schultze, OL (Texas State/Broken Arrow, Oklahoma)***
*also played at Marshall
**also played at Fort Scott CC (KS)
***also played at Northeast Oklahoma A&M
2023 Recruiting Class – Junior College Transfers
- Marquez Tatum, DT (Pearl River CC – MS/Mobile, Alabama)*
- Ja’Coby Matthews, WR (Southwest Mississippi CC/McComb, Mississippi)
*also redshirted at Grambling and lettered at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC
ASSISTANT COACHES
- David Yost, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks
- Jovan Dewitt, defensive coordinator/linebackers
- Zac Roper, special teams coordinator/tight ends
- Eric Hickson, associate head coach/running backs
- Joshua Eargle, deputy head coach/offensive line
- Jay MacIntyre, wide receivers
- George Frazier, defensive line
- Nate Taye, safeties
- Anthony Gaitor, outside linebackers/nickelbacks
- DeMarcus Van Dyke, cornerbacks
THREE KEY PLAYERS
- WR Jalen Bracey (Sr.)
The speedy JUCO transfer caught a team-high 39 passes in his Panther debut, serving as an ideal slot receiver in coordinator David Yost’s offense. The Panthers are hoping to get more out of their vertical passing game, and Bracey is one of the more experienced players in the receivers room.
- QB Grayson James (Jr.)
James has a decent arm and possesses solid athleticism, but he has something to prove after he tossed 11 touchdowns against 11 interceptions in his first season as the full-time starter.
- LB Donovan Manuel (Sr.)
Manuel and fellow ‘backer Gaethan Bernadel were a productive one-two punch on an inexperienced and overmatched defense. The East Tennessee State transfer made 97 stops and 8.5 tackles for loss.
THREE KEY LOSSES
- WR Tyrese Chambers
Chambers made 51 catches for 544 yards and four scores and was an unselfish locker room presence before entering the transfer portal at the end of the year.
- TE Rivaldo Fairweather
A big target at 6’5″, 245 pounds, Fairweather hit the transfer portal after finishing fourth on the team in receptions and yardage, later landing at Auburn.
- LB Gaethan Bernadel
Although undersized at 6’1″, 210 pounds, Bernadel led the Panthers with 103 total tackles before leaving via the portal in December.
THREE KEY ADDITIONS
- S Landon Hale (Fr.)
A three-star freshman safety, Hale made 179 tackles in three seasons, plus 20 tackles for loss, 16 pass breakups, three interceptions and five forced fumbles. He also crushed it in the classroom, graduating with a 4.6 GPA and turning down scholarship offers from all three U.S. service academies: Army, Navy & Air Force. Fun fact: Hale attended the same high school as Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry.
- S JoJo Evans (Jr.)
Evans is on his third school, but he’s been productive everywhere he’s been, playing two seasons at Marshall before spending last season at Kent State. So far, he’s got 106 tackles, one interception, six pass breakups and a forced fumble to his credit. At 6’2”, 200 pounds, Evans has a great frame and adds depth to the Panthers’ secondary.
- RB Shomari Lawrence (Soph.)
Lawrence is another transfer player returning to the Sunshine State; he rushed for 766 yards and four touchdowns in his career with the South Dakota Coyotes, an FCS team.
QUOTE
“The way we do the portal is we search kids from the state of Florida: South Florida, Tampa, Orlando and Miami first, then work our way up. Because we want the kids to have a connection to here and want to be here.”
–FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre, referring to FIU’s recruiting philosophy
2023 Preview – Offense
Lacking experienced playmakers and learning a new offense, the Panthers averaged only 18.6 points per game last season.
Second-year coordinator David Yost’s system is a fast-paced and QB-driven Air Raid system — he once coached Justin Herbert at Oregon, but it’s unclear if he has anyone on the Panthers’ roster of that caliber.
Yost will need more consistency from incumbent Grayson James, who tossed just as many picks as touchdowns (11). Sophomore Haden Carlson showed plenty of promise with a 414-yard, four TD performance in a near-upset of Middle Tennessee in the season finale, and the former three-star recruit could be much more of a factor in year two of Yost’s scheme. True freshman Keyone Jenkins was a prized recruit, although four healthy options were reduced to three in the spring when redshirt freshman Amari Jones suffered an Achilles injury.
Leading receiver Tyrese Chambers left via the portal, but the Panthers do return slot receiver Jalen Bracey (37 receptions) as well as tight end Josiah Miamen. Another candidate who could emerge is Dean Patterson, a speedy former walk-on with 20 career catches. Eric Rivers, a Memphis transfer, has solid speed and was on campus during the spring. The Panthers will miss reliable tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, who also transferred.
The offensive line was one of the nation’s youngest (and thinnest) last season, and the Panthers added four newcomers in their recruiting class, but they were dealt a major blow during spring practice when both projected starting tackles (Lyndell Hudson and Shamar Hobdy-Lee) suddenly entered the portal.
The only returning starters up front might be John Bock II, a true sophomore, and Jacob Peace, a former VMI transfer.
On the bright side, the Panthers did sign a trio of three-star freshmen here. Josh Eargle, who coached tight ends last year, is now moving over to coach the line after Greg Austin left for an assistant coaching job with the Philadelphia Eagles.
FIU was dealt a serious blow in the spring when leading returning rusher Lexington “Flex” Joseph (536 yards, five TDs) tore his ACL; he will miss the season. Vying to replace him will be a combination of sophomore Kejon Owens (26 carries last season), redshirt freshman Antonio Patterson and South Dakota transfer Shomari Lawrence.
2023 Preview – Defense
Second-year coordinator Jovan Dewitt had his hands full in 2022, inheriting one of the nation’s least-experienced defenses, and year one was rough — the Panthers finished 122nd in the nation in total defense and 127th in scoring D.
Returning starters include linebacker Donovan Manuel (97 tackles, 7.5 TFL), an East Tennessee State transfer who made an impact on a run defense that needed proven playmakers. Converted running back Shaun Peterson Jr. is also a likely starter, or it could be Miami transfer Avery Huff, senior Alex Nobles or Northern Colorado transfer Elijah Anderson-Taylor.
The Panthers want to be able to pressure the quarterback, but they had only 21 sacks as a team and are thin on the front four. Latarie Kinsler (20 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack) has potential as a difference-maker, but he’ll need to adapt to a likely starting role at end. Travonte O’Neal showed some flashes as well, and Jeramy Passmore is a returning starter at end after recording 43 tackles, but only one sack. NC State transfer Claude Larkins, a South Florida native, has intriguing size and potential.
In the secondary, FIU gave up 260 passing yards per game, but does return some starting experience in Jamal Potts, who can play nickel or safety, and cornerback Adrian Cole (36 tackles, one pick), who transferred from Syracuse before last fall. The spring allowed more youngsters to crack the depth chart at corner after Cole suffered a shoulder injury, although he should be OK for the season.
Junior safety C.J. Christian played in five games before hurting his shoulder as well and missing the rest of the year, while sophomore Hezekiah Masses could see more action at corner. Safety J.T. Anderson was another underrated pickup from FCS Bryant, reuniting with his teammate, defensive tackle Jack Daly. Temple transfer Bobby Salla and Kent State transfer JoJo Evans were two key additions as well.
2023 Preview – Special Teams
Daton Montiel is one of CUSA’s best punters, averaging 42.1 yards per boot and becoming a key weapon on a team whose defense needed all the relief it could get. Rivers could be the main punt returner after an encouraging spring.
Junior Chase Gabriel was frustratingly inconsistent, missing five field goals and having one blocked. As of press time, MacIntyre had not signed any additional kickers.
The special teams will also have a new face at coordinator in tight ends coach Zac Roper, taking over for the departed Ricky Brumfield.
Summary
Mike MacIntyre inherited one of the nation’s youngest and thinnest rosters and turned in a respectable 4-8 debut season, but the Panthers still have much work to do.
James needs to take a step forward in year two under Yost, while the defense simply needs to stop the bleeding after ranking in the bottom 10 nationally in both scoring D and total D. Depth is still shaky in numerous spots, including on both lines, and losing Joseph for the season leaves the running back position thin and unproven.
MacIntyre had FIU at 4-4 and within eyeshot of a postseason appearance before completely falling apart down the stretch, getting blown out in November conference games by an average score of 44-14, showing how much of a gap there remains between the Panthers and CUSA’s better teams.
The veteran coach will hope a more experienced roster, plus a decent recruiting class, will help get FIU back to the postseason for the first time since 2019.
Letters from Las Cruces 