The FIU Panthers sign these 13 players with another one possibly later this week
The FIU football team signed 13 players to scholarships Wednesday, including five who had not committed previously.
Coach Butch Davis said he expects one more recruit — who plays offense — to join the Panthers by Friday, when the early signing period closes.
The rest of FIU’s signees will sign Feb. 3 or later, and that group could include transfers.
Davis said he didn’t run from FIU’s 0-5 record — the Panthers’ first winless season since 2006 — from any of his recruits.
“You can’t hide the record,” Davis said.
Instead, he pointed the out the really close losses — by two points to Liberty and by three to Middle Tennessee State — while hyping the graduation rate of FIU football players and the Panthers’ three trips to bowl games in the previous three years.
Three players who had previously committed to FIU did not sign, at least not yet: Washington D.C. defensive tackle Kenjuan Manuel and offensive linemen Levontre Daniels (from Starke) and Kalil Muhammad (Georgia).
FIU’s five new recruits are:
▪ Wide receiver Artez Hooker Jr.: He decommitted from Buffalo on Tuesday.
“Artez is explosive, fast and tough,” Davis said of Hooker. “He knows how to run a lot of different routes.”
▪ Offensive lineman Wyatt Lawson: He had visited FIU in June and drew an offer from the Panthers on Nov. 18. He chose FIU over offers from East Tennessee State and Northwestern State.
▪ Defensive lineman Jordan Guerad: He got his first offers on Tuesday, from FIU and Conference USA rival UAB.
▪ Defensive lineman Travonte O’Neal: He reportedly received an offer from a Power Five school, Arkansas, in March. But he never committed … until Wednesday, when he signed with FIU.
▪ Defensive lineman Keegan Davis: He didn’t get an offer from FIU until one week ago. Davis, who played primarily tight end at Treasure Coast, said he decommitted from Marshall, another of FIU’s C-USA rivals.
“Being close to home was a huge thing,” Davis said. “Marshall was great to me but getting a chance to play in your home state is great.”
Eight of FIU’s 13 signees play defense, including three each on the line and in the secondary.
Absent in this group is any signee at quarterback, which was FIU’s most troubled position in 2020. FIU has one less quarterback than it did last month due to the transfer of Stone Norton.
That leaves FIU with three QBs: Kaylan Wiggins, Max Bortenschlager and true freshman Haden Carlson, who did not play this season.
“Quarterback was the position that was devastated the most when we missed spring practice [due to COVID-19],” Butch Davis said. “Haden did a good job in fall practices, even though he missed a couple of weeks due to contract tracing. Max and Kaylan are returning, but we’re still going to scour the country if we think there’s a quarterback out there who can help us win.”
All 13 of FIU signees are from Florida, including six from Dade and Broward.
Perhaps the highest-rated player on the list is Carol City running back Katravis Geter.
“He has great vision,” Davis said. “He has the ability to find the crease and also create mismatches in the passing game.”
Other bits of news from Davis:
▪ The coach said he has changed his recruiting strategy in the past three years, going for versatile defensive backs as opposed to specialists at cornerback or safety.
▪ Davis said he wanted to play the final FIU game that got canceled, against Marshall, but the Panthers were down to as few as 42 scholarship players.
“We wanted to have our Senior Night,” Davis said. “But we were also missing seven or eight assistant coaches and our strength coach. I missed 17 days due to contact tracing.”
▪ Davis said he thinks as many as 10 FIU seniors will return next season as the NCAA has granted every player in the country an extra year of eligibility in another COVID concession.
FIU SIGNEES
RB: Katravis Geter, Carol City, 5-10, 195
WR: Artez Hooker Jr., Lakewood, 5-9, 160
TE: Daniel Pilgrim, North Fort Myers, 6-2, 215
OL: Wyatt Lawson, Durant, 6-3, 290
OL: Kareem Harden, Stranahan, 6-5, 290
DL: Keegan Davis, Treasure Coast, 6-4, 235
DL: Jordan Guerad, Bloomingdale, 6-3, 295
DL: Travonte O’Neal, Vero Beach, 6-3, 240
LB: Gaethan Bernadel, Hallandale, 6-1, 210
LB: A’mahri McCray, Northwestern, 6-0, 210
DB: Jakovi Bryant, Gateway, 5-11, 180
DB: D’Mor Jean-Baptiste, North Miami Beach, 6-0, 172
DB: Demetrius Hill, Miami Springs, 6-2, 190