Former Columbus High coach eager to defeat FIU in season opener
The last time FIU won a game against an FBS team, the Panthers were the giant slayers, upsetting the Miami Hurricanes on Nov. 23, 2019.
When FIU opens its 2022 season at home on Thursday night against FCS opponent Bryant University, the Panthers’ role will be reversed.
FIU will be the hunted.
Bryant, led by former Miami Columbus coach Chris Merritt, will be doing the hunting.
“I’ve coached on that field many times,” Merritt said of his experiences at FIU Stadium while coaching Columbus for 18 years. “I’m excited to come back.
“Anytime an FCS team beats an FBS squad such as FIU, it’s a big deal.”
This is the fourth year for Merritt at Bryant, a private school located in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
The Bulldogs went 4-8 in Merritt’s first season (2019), and they went 2-2 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Last year, Bryant finished 7-4 – the most wins for the Bulldogs since 2014.
Merritt said he inherited a roster that lacked balance, with only 40 percent of its players on defense.
By last season, though, the Bulldogs’ defense had turned it around, ranking in the top 30 nationally in points allowed by an FCS team.
Merritt, who calls the plays on offense, was a finalist last year for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year award.
One key for Merritt is recruiting the Sunshine State. He has 19 Floridians on this year’s roster, including eight from Miami-Dade or Broward high schools.
Among the most prominent South Floridians on the roster are Ryan Saddler, a linebacker and team captain from Fort Lauderdale’s Cardinal Gibbons High; and former Miami Central wide receiver Anthony Frederick, who tied for the Northeast Conference lead last year with eight touchdown catches.
Bryant also has ex-Columbus wide receiver Gary Cooper, who transferred in this year from Merritt’s alma mater, Indiana.
“We recruit (Florida) so hard,” Merritt said. “That’s why we reached out to FIU a year or two ago about playing a game.
“If we’re going to play an FBS team, we want it to be in an area where we recruit.”
Bryant played its first-ever game against an FBS team last year, losing 35-14 at Akron.
However, that game was tied 14-14 in the fourth quarter before Akron’s superior depth made the difference.
That could be a factor again on Thursday. While FIU is allowed 85 scholarship players, Bryant has only 50 scholarship athletes due to the rules in its league.
“Our top guys were dog tired,” Merritt said of Bryant’s fourth-quarter performance against Akron last year. “But we’re deeper now.”
One example of that depth is at quarterback, where the Bulldogs are likely to use both Gage Moloney and Zevi Eckhaus against FIU.
Moloney won the starting job last year, but he broke his foot in the opener, and he was lost for the season. He is now back.
Eckhaus came in after Moloney’s injury, and he was named the NEC Offensive Rookie of the Year. Eckhaus also finished fourth in the voting for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top FCS player in the country.
“They are both special kids,” Merritt said. “We have one hell of a quarterback battle.”
This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 8:00 AM.