FIU running back D’Vonte Price is one of Conference USA’s top prospects for NFL Draft
FIU running back D’Vonte Price is ranked the sixth-best Conference USA prospect for the 2022 NFL Draft, according to Lindy’s magazine.
Price, who has impressive speed and size (6-2, 215 pounds), led C-USA in yards per attempt (6.8) last season, finishing 10th nationally in yards per game (116.2). His yards per carry and yards per game are both FIU records.
However, Price is listed as just a second-team All-Conference USA player on the preseason team published by Lindy’s and also by Athlon.
Athlon lists just one All-Conference USA first-team player: kick returner Lexington Joseph.
Among the players on the first team from other schools is Southern Mississippi running back Frank Gore Jr., son of the former Miami Hurricanes and NFL star. Texas-San Antonio’s Sincere McCormick joins Gore as C-USA’s first-team running backs, ahead of Price.
FIU defensive tackle Devon Strickland made Lindy’s second team. Three FIU players made Athlon’s third team: Strickland, linebacker Jamal Gates and defensive back Rishard Dames.
Athlon’s fourth team features seven FIU players: wide receiver Shemar Thornton; tight end Rivaldo Fairweather; offensive lineman Lyndell Hudson; defensive back Richard Dames; punt returner Bryce Singleton; and punter Tommy Heatherly.
Lindy’s does not publish a third or fourth team.
FIGGY’S GREAT YEAR
No FIU baseball player made Conference USA’s 2021 first or second team. However, first baseman Adrian Figueroa made C-USA’s All-Freshman team.
Figueroa, who was also named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball, started all 51 of FIU’s games and led the team in batting average (.321) and doubles (12). He posted an .820 OPS and became the first freshman to lead FIU in batting average since Edwin Rios hit .332 in 2013.
Among all freshmen in FIU history, Figueroa ranks seventh in hits, doubles and fielding percentage and 10th in batting average.
THIS AND THAT
▪ FIU’s football coaching staff has undergone much turnover since the end of the 2021 season, which ended in a 0-5 record. The latest change is at wide receiver, where coach DJ McCarthy is no longer listed on the FIU roster.
▪ FIU’s football team will play at New Mexico State in 2022 under an agreement announced last month. New Mexico State will visit FIU in 2025. New Mexico State finished 2-10 in 2019, its most recent fall season.
▪ According to SB Nation’s Eric Henry, FIU has landed a pair of transfers: ex-USF wide receiver Randall St. Felix and ex-Indiana University defensive lineman Jeramy Passmore. Those two would likely be impact transfers.
St. Felix, a 6-2, 205-pounder from Miami Krop, is a 22-year-old who already has earned his Bachelor’s degree in criminology. As a redshirt freshman, he led USF with 679 receiving yards, which ranked eighth-best in Bulls history. He hasn’t been as productive the past two years, but he still has 70 career catches for 1,090 yards and seven touchdowns.
Passmore, a 6-3, 265-pounder, played his high school ball at Miami Columbus.
▪ Several FIU players entered the transfer portal since the end of last season, including defensive end Alexy Jean-Baptiste; defensive back Benny McCray; tight end Ivan Thomas (signed with Louisiana Tech); and offensive linemen John Bolding (signed with Southern Miss); and Kareem Harden (signed with Butler Community College).
▪ Former FIU quarterback James Morgan has a legit shot at being the New York Jets’ second-string quarterback this year. He was third-string last year. This season, he is competing with former Nova High QB Mike White to be rookie first-rounder Zach Wilson’s understudy.
▪ The Canadian Football League, set to start its 63rd season next month, is set to feature two former FIU players: left tackle D’Antne Demery with the Edmonton Eskimos and wide receiver CJ Worton for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Meanwhile, former FIU and UM kicker Jose Borregales has signed with the Tampa Bay Bucs as an undrafted free agent.
This story was originally published July 12, 2021 at 10:27 AM.