FIU signs 15 recruits, with offensive line emphasis, on early National Signing Day

The theme for FIU’s football recruiting Class of 2020 is “The Future is Now,” and South Dade offensive tackle Jose Mirabal surely feels the same way.

Mirabal, who signed with FIU as the first National Signing Day in this cycle opened on Wednesday, was asked about the Panthers’ stunning 30-24 win over the once-mighty Miami Hurricanes on Nov. 23.

“We run the south now,” Mirabal said. “I already knew we had the potential. It was just a matter of locking in as a team.”

FIU coach Butch Davis locked in 15 recruits on Wednesday, including 10 on offense, four on defense and a kicker with some stellar stats. The position that got the most attention was the blocking wall as FIU signed five offensive linemen. Two of those blockers are junior-college transfers, indicating FIU needed immediate help at the position.

“Every recruiting class always has an area of added importance, and this year that was the offensive line,” Davis said in a statement. “We had four offensive linemen graduate last year who played an enormous amount. We needed to bring in (blockers) who could compete for starting jobs and add depth.”

There is another signing period that opens on Feb. 5 and, at that point, Davis can fill out this class, especially on defense.

Here’s a closer look at the players who signed Wednesday:

▪ Quarterback Haden Carlson: The 6-3, 195-pounder from Tampa passed for 2,582 yards and 33 touchdowns with just five interceptions as a senior. A three-year starter, he helped Steinbrenner High improve each season, from 2-7 in 2017 to 6-5 in 2018 and 12-2 with the first regional title in school history this past season.

▪ Running back: Kejon Owens: The 5-10, 185-pounder makes it two straight years that FIU has signed an RB from Miami Central, joining Lexington Joseph.

▪ Wide receiver Teddy Richardson III: The 5-11, 185-pounder from Miami’s Booker T. Washington would like to emulate another former BTW wide receiver who signed with FIU — Maurice Alexander, who made first-team All-Conference USA last year as a punt returner.

▪ Wide receiver Xavier McGriff: The 6-2, 180-pounder from Jacksonville had numerous offers from the ACC, SEC and other major conferences. He caught 50 passes for 749 yards and six touchdowns as a senior. He also ran for three touchdowns, took a kickoff the distance and had a pair of two-point conversions.

▪ Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather: The 6-4, 235-pounder is from Boyd Anderson.

▪ Mirabal: He’s a 6-6, 280-pounder now, but he was as heavy as 360 earlier in his career. South Dade coach Nate Hudson said that when Mirabal realized plays weren’t run his way as often because he lacked speed, he remade his body.

“He’s aggressive and ambitious,” Hudson said. “Once he figured out what he needed to do, he trimmed his body.”

▪ Offensive lineman Jahmari Sylvester: The 6-5, 315-pounder is from St. Thomas Aquinas.

▪ Offensive lineman Kameren Williams: The 6-4, 290-pound junior-college transfer is from Texas.

▪ Offensive lineman Miles Frazier: The 6-5, 305-pounder is from New Jersey.

▪ Offensive lineman Maljon Joor: The 6-3, 320-pounder from Mississippi is another junior-college transfer.

▪ Defensive end Shykieim Gloster: The 6-4, 220-pound defensive end is from Monsignor Pace.

▪ Defensive tackle Bobby Washington: The 5-11, 290-pounder is from Aquinas.

▪ Linebacker Tamarick Best: The 6-1, 225-pounder is from Pahokee.

▪ Safety Andrew Volmar: The 6-1, 170-pounder from American Heritage had offers from Rutgers and Temple.

▪ Kicker Chase Gabriel: The Georgia native made 13-of-15 field goals this year, went 36-for-36 on extra points and averaged 41.5 yards per punt. Of his 46 kickoffs, 39 went for touchbacks and at least two of his field goals were from 52 yards.

His high school coach, Glynn Academy’s Rocky Hidalgo, said Gabriel has made a 70-yarder in practice.

Academically, Gabriel has a 4.1 GPA and wants to study architecture or business.

Miami Herald sportswriter David Wilson also contributed to this report.