FIU’s starting quarterback won’t play in the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl against Toledo
For the second consecutive year, FIU will play its bowl game without its starting quarterback.
FIU Coach Butch Davis said Thursday a sore throwing arm will keep starting quarterback James Morgan out of Friday’s Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl against Toledo.
“In our last game against Marshall, he suffered a small injury in the tricep,” Davis said at the last pregame news conference. “If the bowl game was another week or 10 days — he’s very close — you could’ve said it was game time decision. But to protect his future as a quarterback, we didn’t want to take the risk. ”
Conference USA coaches voted Morgan, a graduate transfer from Bowling Green, CUSA’s Newcomer of the Year after he threw for 2,727 yards and 26 touchdowns, completed 65.3 percent of his passes and threw only seven interceptions.
Morgan’s backup is Senior Christian Alexander, who threw for 218 yards, one interception and no touchdowns on 19 of 29 passing. Though not as adept a passer as Morgan, Alexander’s a better runner who will occasionally keep the ball on option plays. He ran for 98 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries (7.0 yards per carry) this season.
A year ago, another Alexander recruited as a quarterback in 2015, current wide receiver/punt returner Maurice Alexander, played most of FIU’s 28-3 Big Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl loss to Temple after four-year starter Alex McGough got hurt on the opening drive.
Bad injury luck also cramped FIU in its 2011 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl loss to Marshall. As he gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead, star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton suffered an injury that eventually took him out of the game.
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 12:55 PM.
