Butch Davis and FIU’s new offensive line coach have come a long way since 2001
Joel Rodriguez was once quite furious with Butch Davis.
It was January 2001 – less than two weeks before National Signing Day — and Davis had just told his Miami Hurricanes players that he was bolting to the Cleveland Browns, who had offered a five-year, $15.7 million contract.
Davis left behind a Hurricanes team that had just completed an 11-1 season that came with a No. 2 national ranking. Those Hurricanes included Rodriguez, who had just finished his freshman season as an offensive lineman.
“At first, I was mad at [Davis] for leaving,” Rodriguez said last week, nearly two decades later. “This is the guy who recruited me. He told me he would be [at Miami] for a long time.”
It’s safe to say Rodriguez is no longer mad at Davis, who is now preparing for his fourth season as FIU’s coach.
On Jan. 28, Davis announced that he had hired Rodriguez, 37, as FIU’s offensive line coach.
“As you get older, you go through stages of understanding, especially when you realize the opportunity [Davis] had with the Browns and how it would change the whole landscape for him and his family,” Rodriguez said. “[The NFL] is the highest level possible, and it (now) makes total sense.”
Rodriguez who won a national title as a Hurricanes player under coach Larry Coker in 2001, got experience as part of the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad (2005) and also played for the Berlin Thunder (2006) of the World League.
And when Rodriguez started his coaching career in 2007 as an Ole Miss graduate assistant, Davis was one of a handful of people he leaned on for advice.
Rodriguez spent seven years as an offensive line coach at Bryant and Fordham universities. Ultimately, he got the call from FIU.
“Coach Davis,” Rodriguez said when asked why he took the FIU job. “I wanted to be a part of the program he’s building.”
Rodriguez will inherit two talented senior starters — left tackle D’Antne Demery and center Shane McGough.
Redshirt junior Mershawn Miller and sophomore Sione Finau — who both had their moments last season — are strong bets to win starting jobs at guard. And redshirt sophomore Lyndell Hudson could be the player to start at right tackle, replacing Devontay Taylor, who transferred to Florida State.
That, however, doesn’t mean there won’t be massive competition. Two recruits from 2019 — freshman center Julius Pierce and junior guard Logan Gunderson could make an impact after redshirting last season.
In addition, FIU signed five recruits for the offensive line in this cycle: junior-college transfers Maljon Joor and Kameren Williams and freshmen Jose Mirabal, Jahmari Sylvester and Miles Frazier.
That’s a lot to work with for Rodriguez, who was asked if he has a “hands on” coaching style, demonstrating technique on blocking sleds, for example.
“Another one of my biggest mentors is Mike Munchak,” Rodriguez said of the former nine-time Pro Bowl lineman who is now an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos. “And when I first started coaching, ‘Munch’ told me not to demonstrate very often, but, if I do, pound the [bleep] out of it.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ FIU will start its baseball season on Friday when Fordham arrives for a three-game series.
▪ Two former FIU players – quarterback James Morgan and cornerback Stantley Thomas-Oliver – have been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. They are the first FIU players invited since tight end Jonnu Smith in 2017.
▪ FIU’s men’s basketball team (17-8, 8-4 Conference USA) improved to 11-1 at home with a 69-50 win over Florida Atlantic last Wednesday. Three days later, FIU won at FAU, 66-59, rallying from a 14-point deficit.