The FIU Panthers will bring a lot of experience, a strong defense and a star tight end to take on the UCF Knights on Thursday.
Florida International head coach Ron Turner is in his third year with the team and is looking to continue the steady rate of improvement. The team returns 87 percent of its scoring production and has 17 projected starters entering their junior or senior seasons with the program. After going 1-11 in 2013, Turner and the Panthers went 4-8 in 2014 while boasting a defense that ranked 35th in the nation in total defense.
The Panthers defense has talent from top to bottom, but it all runs through senior cornerback Richard Leonard and senior defensive end Michael Wakefield.
Leonard, named to the Jim Thorpe Award watch list, had five interceptions last year (two returned for TDs) and poses a huge threat to Justin Holman and the Knight’s young wide receivers. The star cornerback is also a dual threat in the return game; returning two punts for touchdowns and averaging 25.7 yards on kick returns.
While Leonard patrols the Panthers secondary, Michael Wakefield gets after the quarterback as FIU’s reining sack leader with 8 in 2014. The senior defensive end is a 2015 Conference USA Preseason All-American first team selection and has been a mainstay on the Panther’s roster for three seasons which includes starting every game in the last two years.
On the other side of the ball, the name to look out for on the offense is tight end Jonnu Smith. Smith enters Thursday’s game as both a member of the Mackey Award watch list and ranked second all-time among tight ends at FIU in career receiving yards and receptions.
Smith has caught a pass in each of his 24 games as a FIU Panther and ended last season as a Sports Illustrated All-American honorable mention. The 6 foot 3 inch junior will be thrown to early and often against the Knights and will test the new starters at linebacker and in the secondary.
The man throwing to Jonnu Smith is sophomore quarterback Alex McGough who after starting just 11 games for the Panthers has already hit the top 10 in all-time completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns for the program. While that stat seems to show McGough’s prowess, it lends itself more to the fact that FIU at its heart and soul is a run-first team.
Florida International’s three running back attack of senior Anthon Samuel, sophomore Alex Gardner and sophomore Napoleon Randall led them to a lot of success as they combined for 1,418 yards on the ground. However, Randall hurt his knee in fall camp and will be forced to miss the entire season, so it will be up to Samuel and Gardner to carry the load.
The injury bug also struck junior left guard Jordan Budwig, who comes as another first team selection to the Conference USA Preseason All-Americans for the Panthers. Budwig will miss the season with a shoulder injury which could also affect FIU’s ability to run the ball effectively against the UCF front seven.
Florida International takes on UCF tomorrow for the first time since the 38-0 blowout victory by the Knights in 2013. The Knights will look to add their third consecutive win against the Panthers and they lead the series with an all-time record of 2-1.
