Out of the Shadows


FIU’s football team got everyone’s attention last season with its first championship and bowl win. Now they are hungry for more

By Pete Pelegrin ’96

These Panthers are ready for an exciting new season of FIU football. From left: #97 Tourek Williams, #71 Caylin Hauptmann, #28 Darriet Perry, #7 Jonathan Cyprien, #4 T.Y. Hilton, #13 Wesley Carroll and #27 Jose Cheeseborough. Photo: Josh Ritchie.

Walk into the FIU football offices and you are greeted by the sparkling gold 2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Champions trophy and the 2010 Sun Belt Champion trophy. That’s the only taste of glory you’re going to get at FIU Stadium these days.

Head downstairs to Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium for a Panthers off-season workout and there are no reminders of the historic 2010 FIU football season. Instead, there’s sweat. On this early, humid, sweltering summer morning, the 2010 Sun Belt Champions are mercilessly running 110-yard sprints. That’s followed by team drills run by junior and senior players.

Working even harder – that’s how a team that’s just emerged into the spotlight takes it to the next level. All eyes will be on FIU this season as it looks to solidify its place at the top. The team faces a challenging non-conference schedule and knows every Sun Belt team will be looking to knock them down. The players say they are ready to defend their title starting Sept. 1 with the season and home-opening kickoff against North Texas.

“We demand so much more of ourselves because we know what we’re capable of,” senior quarterback Wesley Carroll said. “You have to set the bar higher. The standards here at FIU are higher than they ever have been.”

Although the 2010 season will always be special for FIU, the Panthers are only looking forward.

“It’s the first time that FIU football has achieved true success. It has made us hungrier,” said Head Coach Mario Cristobal. “We continually demand more of ourselves. The 2010 season is in the history books. We are completely focused on being an improved football team in 2011. We will maintain the attitude of being the ‘hunter.’”

Since they joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2005, the Panthers have had their target set on perennial conference powers Troy and Middle Tennessee. FIU had been chasing a Sun Belt title the last five years until the Panthers went into Troy’s home stadium and knocked the crown off the 2009 champion Trojans last fall.

Still, last season’s 7-6 record leaves plenty of room for improvement. Among the team’s goals is to become a more balanced and explosive offense and to improve its record in and out of conference.

“We’re going to build off of last year,” senior running back Darriet Perry said. “This year has to be better.”

Finishing atop the Sun Belt and playing an exciting brand of athletic, explosive football that was on full display in the rousing 34-32 Pizza Bowl win, the Panthers caught the attention of national television networks for this coming season. FIU will have six of its first eight games on national TV, starting with the season opener against North Texas.

The other six FIU games could be picked up by other networks, including the Sun Belt Network, which televised five FIU games in 2010.

ESPN3 will carry the Thursday, Sept. 1, game against the Mean Green along with home games against Central Florida (Sept. 17) and Duke (Oct. 1). ESPN will televise the Panthers’ first road game of 2011 when FIU plays at Louisville on Sept. 9. And like the Pizza Bowl last Dec. 26, the games on Oct. 18 (at Arkansas State) and Oct. 25 (vs. Troy) will be the only football games being played on those respective nights. Both those Tuesday night games will be carried by ESPN2.

The six national TV games mean a lot for the university, Cristobal said. The exposure opens doors to a new set of recruiting grounds.

“A successful football program becomes the window to the university,” he said. “Being selected to play on national television is a tremendous honor. It validates our growth as a program and increases our momentum as people all over the country will be exposed to a new brand of football. The increased exposure has been phenomenal for recruiting. Prospects all over the country no longer have to worry about their families being able to watch them play, for they will be on national television on multiple occasions.”

Selected as one of the premier adidas schools in the nation, the Panthers will don new seamless uniforms made by adidas this season. FIU will still wear two sets of jerseys and pants: one midnight blue and the other white.

While the uniforms will be new, the Panthers will field a veteran team in 2011. FIU has 14 seniors and 27 juniors on this year’s roster. The majority of those 41 players have played all 25 games the last two seasons.

The offense will feature senior starters at the skill positions with Carroll, Perry, receiver T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jonathan Faucher. The offensive line, which anchored FIU’s most prolific rushing season in 2010 with 2,438 yards, returns most of its core. Ceedrick Davis replaces Brad Serini at center. Both Cedric Mack and Serini graduated.

On defense, the Panthers will be led by new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, who replaces Geoff Collins. He inherits a burgeoning defensive line led by Tourek Williams and Josh Forney. FIU will need to replace Toronto Smith at linebacker and Anthony Gaitor at cornerback, both of whom graduated. Gaitor was also drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Cristobal has told his team to adopt the mantra of being “1-0” every day in practice and in every game. In other words, win each practice and win each game.

“Every victory gets exponentially harder because now you have been recognized as a team that has won a championship,” Cristobal said. “We started our warm-ups four years ago with 10 ‘Champions’ [jumping jacks]. That now means something. It has been validated and you must uphold that.”

Update: Since FIU Magazine‘s publication, ESPN announced that it was picking up a seventh game for broadcast.

The FIU vs. Louisiana Sun Belt Conference football game scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24, at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium will be televised on ESPN3 at 6 p.m. So if you live out of town you, too, will be able to be part of excitement  – otherwise, see you at the Cage!

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