Savion Collins picks Panthers, becoming FIU’s 3rd-highest-ranked player to sign with team
Today is the birthday of Tammy Davis, wife of FIU coach Butch Davis, and her gifts include a quarterback, a wide receiver, an offensive guard and a defensive lineman.
“She’s heard that joke before,” Davis said on the first day of the regular signing period for football recruits.
Even so, if the players FIU signed on Wednesday are as good advertised, these “presents” will make the entire family happy, including their son, FIU assistant coach Drew Davis.
Perhaps the biggest news for FIU on Wednesday was the signing of Miami Palmetto defensive tackle Savion Collins, who immediately jumps to the top of the list of Panthers signees in this class, just ahead of Miami Springs defensive back Demetrius Hill and Carol City running back Katravis Geter.
Collins, a 6-4, 330-pounder, committed to the Miami Hurricanes in September of 2018. Perhaps lost in the shadow of Palmetto’s five-star defensive tackle Leonard Taylor, Collins on Dec. 2 decommitted from the Canes, who had stopped recruiting him.
That opened the doors — plural, because you need two of them to fit Collins — for FIU.
“This is a great opportunity for FIU to sign Savion from its own backyard,” Palmetto coach Mike Manasco said.
Manasco said Collins needs to get in top football shape, and that starts with losing 10 to 15 pounds.
“But nobody has a punch off the ball like Savion does,” Manasco said. “He can run a 4.85 [40-yard dash]. He has great explosion, quickness, strength and hand placement.
“His highlight reel is just him using his hands to get off blocks. You watch him ‘punch’ guys in the chest, and it’s pretty impressive.”
Collins, ranked by 247 Sports as the No. 62 d-tackle in the nation and No. 35 in a composite of ratings, is in elite company. According to 247 Sports, he is the third-highest-ranked player ever to sign with FIU.
“If we want to climb the ladder in college football, it starts with the line of scrimmage,” said Butch Davis, whose team went 0-5 in 2020. “Savion is a great addition.”
Davis addressed the other side of the line by signing former Temple guard JD Gomez, a 6-6, 300-pounder who previously played for Miami High.
Born in the Dominican Republic, Gomez was a three-year letter-winner at Miami High, earning honorable mention All-Dade. He then spent one season at ASA junior college and three at Temple.
In addition to Collins and Gomez, FIU also signed Texas prep quarterback Grayson James — who was discussed in this space earlier this week — and wide receiver Tyrese Chambers, a 6-1, 185-pound transfer from Sacred Heart University, an FCS program.
Chambers caught 50 passes for 811 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019, all team highs.
Davis raved about Chambers enthusiasm and his run-after-catch skills. Davis also said he hopes Chambers is up to 190 or 195 pounds by this fall.
“On tape, you saw Tyrese run almost everything in the passing tree,” Davis said of Chambers’ advanced route-running.
Davis also said that while many high school receivers catch the ball with their bodies and have to be taught to use their hands better, Chambers is already there.
“Maybe 95 to 98 percent of his catches are with his hands,” Davis said. “He has great confidence to catch the ball that way.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Coupled with the 14 players FIU signed in December, the Panthers now have 18 in the Class of 2021, with room to add a few more, perhaps after the spring.
▪ FIU will have its Pro Day for Panthers NFL prospects on March 29. Offensive lineman Shane McGough and D’Antne Demery as well as defensive end Noah Curtis, linebacker Sage Lewis and wide receiver Maurice Alexander are among the players expected to attend.
Miami Herald Sportswriter David Wilson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 4:58 PM.