FIU football bullish on its options for the coming season at wide receiver

Wide receiver may be the deepest position on FIU’s football team.

Jay MacIntyre, who coaches FIU’s receivers, said he has a dozen players he would feel comfortable lining up when the Panthers open their 2024 season at Indiana on August 31.

“Last year, I mainly played just four guys,” MacIntyre said. “This year, if you don’t have a good practice, you will drop on the depth chart. We’re that deep.”

FIU likely won’t announce its starting lineup until just before the Indiana game.

However, our guess here is that veterans Dean Patterson and Eric Rivers will be two of FIU’s three starting receivers.

MacIntyre said they are both tremendous leaders. Beyond that, besides Kris Mitchell -- who transferred to Notre Dame – Patterson and Rivers were FIU’s leaders in reception yards last year. Rivers had 32 catches and an 11.6 average. Patterson had 28 receptions and a 15.1 average.

FIU’s two-deep roster at wide receiver will likely also include returning veteran Ross Fournet and transfers Desna “DJ” Washington, Juju Lewis and Nazeviah Burris.

Washington, a 6-4, 210-pounder, caught 29 passes and had an 11.6 average last year at New Mexico. He has the potential to win a lot of 50-50 balls at FIU, where he could be especially valuable in the red zone.

Fournet, a former walk-on, has caught just 11 passes in three years at FIU, including two last season. But MacIntyre likes his intangibles.

“Ross blocks his butt off,” MacIntyre said. “He does the little things. Every time he’s in, he makes some kind of a play.”

Burris may be the wild card as this will be his first year playing for an FBS program.

He was FIU’s best receiver in the spring, leading the squad with 67 catches in scrimmages and team practices. He also had zero drops during the spring.

“I knew he was a really good player when I watched Stetson’s film,” MacIntyre said. “But what you can’t see on film is how easy it is for him to catch the ball. He caught everything that came his way this spring.”

Lewis, meanwhile, didn’t play in two years at Georgia Tech.

MacIntyre, though, sees his potential.

“All three of those (transfers) are ballers,” MacIntyre said. “I think we hit on all three of those guys. People will notice them this fall.”

In addition to those six players, MacIntyre has added two converted running backs to his receiver room: T.J. Snowden and Shaborne Demps.

Other receivers in the mix are Kyle McNeal; Ja’Coby Matthews; and Luby Maurice Jr.

One more name to ponder is C’Quan Jnopierre, who caught 47 passes for a 14.2 average last year for St. Thomas University, an NAIA school.

THIS AND THAT

▪ FIU has veterans at kicker, punter, long-snapper, kickoff returner and punt returner. The one newcomer on FIU’s special teams is another STU transfer, Alejandro Prado, who will handle kickoffs, replacing graduated Lucas Matias.

Prado booted 95 kickoffs last year with 44 touchbacks and three that went out of bounds. He also made 10-of-13 on field goals.

“Hang time and location matter,” FIU special teams coordinator Zac Roper said when asked about what he looks for in a kickoff specialist.

▪ One thing that makes Daton Montiel a solid punter is his ability to match his hang time with his distance.

“If you punt it 50 yards, you need five seconds of hang time,” Roper said. “If you have a 45-yard punt, you need 4½ seconds of hang time so our guys can run down there and cover.”