Coach Butch Davis, FIU football team open fall practices with high expectations

Beat rival Florida Atlantic for the first time since 2016. …

Win Conference USA for the first time — ever. …

And win their second straight bowl game.

Those are among the 2019 goals for the FIU Panthers, who finished 9-4 in 2018, setting a single-season victory mark.

Coach Butch Davis — now in his third year with the Panthers — opened fall practice Wednesday, and there’s plenty of optimism on campus ahead of the Aug. 29 season opener at Tulane.

“Going into Year 3, [there are] high expectations,” Davis said. “We had an outstanding offseason conditioning program. [Strength coach] Chad Smith did a great job. Our players are probably in the best condition in the three years that we’ve been here.”

Davis praised several players for their conditioning, including wide receiver Maurice Alexander, middle linebacker Sage Lewis, center Dallas Connell, defensive linemen Noah Curtis and Teair Tart and cornerbacks Stantley Thomas-Oliver and Ike Brown.

But one of the biggest reasons for hope is the return of senior quarterback James Morgan, who last year set the FIU single-season record with 26 touchdown passes. Morgan, who came to FIU as a graduate transfer from Bowling Green, earned Conference USA’s Newcomer of the Year honor.

Morgan, who passed for 2,727 yards last season, is one of seven returning starters on offense. Lindy’s magazine rates Morgan’s arm as the strongest in Conference USA, although North Texas star Mason Fine is ranked ahead of him for all-league honors.

At running back, Anthony Jones ranks as a second-team all-league player, and fellow senior Napoleon Maxwell also returns. Jones has 1,148 career rushing yards and Maxwell led FIU last year with 697 rushing yards.

Also at the position, Shawndarrius Phillips, who had off-field legal issues, is off the roster, and D’Vonte Price returns after leading FIU running backs with a 6.2 rushing average.

At receiver, Morgan will have a number of established targets, including Alexander, Austin Maloney, Bryce Singleton and Tony Gaiter as well as tight end Sterling Palmer.

Alexander, in his first year since converting from quarterback, made first team all-league as a kick returner. Maloney (30 catches, team-high 20.3-yard average and five touchdowns) is second-team all-league this preseason.

The offensive line is in good shape with Connell, who is on the watch list for the nation’s top centers, and left tackle D’Ante Demery, who is rated the best pass blocker in the league. Guard Shane McGough and right tackle Devontay Taylor are solid, leaving one starting spot open for a competition between players such as Willa Pierre and Logan Gunderson.

Morgan said he’s excited to have co-leaders on the offense, naming Alexander, Connell, Gaiter and Maloney.

“They know what they’re doing, and they set that standard,” Morgan said. “They go hard every time.”

Defensively, the Panthers also return seven starters, including Lewis, who led the league last year with 132 tackles, setting a school record.

This year, he has been named Conference USA’s Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

“No pressure,” Lewis said. “I’m just going to play my game.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ Tayland “The Big Sauce” Humphrey, a 6-5, 350-pound defensive tackle, left FIU and is now playing for the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns.

Humphrey had arrived at FIU as a junior college transfer and was one of the highest-rated recruits in program history. He played 12 games last season, including eight starts, and made 15 tackles with a half sack. He reportedly struggled with his conditioning