From walk-ons to key receivers, Patterson and Fournet earn respect at FIU

FIU football coaches have been known to hand out a “loaf”, but it has nothing to do with bread.

Nothing that tasty.

Jay MacIntyre, FIU’s wide receivers coach, explained this week that he and the other coaches mark down a “loaf” for any player who does not go hard in agility drills. Ross Fournet and Dean Patterson, both walk-ons at the start of spring practice, impressed MacIntyre with their hustle.

“It’s almost impossible to not get at least one ‘loaf’ for how many drills we ran in the spring,” MacIntyre said. “Ross was the only person who went through the entire spring with zero loafs. Dean may have had one.”

Given those numbers and his physical stature, it’s not a huge shock that Patterson, a 6-2, 200-pounder from Tampa, earned a scholarship after spring football ended. Patterson impressed with his hands, his route-running and his ability to “high point” the football.

Fournet, a less-imposing 5-9, 175-pounder from Orlando, wasn’t quite as lucky as Patterson, entering this fall without a scholarship.

“I was a bit upset,” Fournet said. “But I decided to keep working for my team to be the best player I could be.”

Fournet said it helped to have Patterson to talk to as they bonded over their shared history.

Patterson, meanwhile, tried to hype up his teammate.

“We were talking in the spring,” Patterson said. “I told him, ‘It’s going to be both of us. Both of us are going to get scholarships.

“When it was me, I was happy, but I was also thinking about Ross. I said, ‘Trust me, bro. You’re next.’”

Patterson was right.

FIU coach Mike MacIntyre – Jay’s father – announced last month that Fournet had earned his scholarship. The locker-room announcement was captured on video, and Fournet was immediately mobbed by his joyous teammates.

“When he got his scholarship, I was the first one to jump on him,” Patterson said. “It was everything he had worked for, and I was very excited for him.”

Fournet earned his keep in last week’s season-opening, 38-37 overtime win over visiting Bryant University.

In the final minute of regulation, FIU trailed 30-27 and had a fourth-and-10 at its own 25. It was a dire situation, but Fournet faked out his man on a crossing route, got behind a linebacker and in front of a safety. Quarterback Grayson James tossed it to Fournet, who jumped up and was hauling in the ball when he was hit.

The pass fell incomplete, but FIU got a game-saving first down after a targeting penalty was called on the play.

“Ross is a warrior,” James said.

Indeed, Fournet was hit hard between his upper chest and just below his chin. He was on the ground for about 30 seconds, and although Fournet is fine now, he missed the rest of that game.

“I got the wind knocked out of me,” Fournet said, “but I’m willing to lay my body on the line for our team.”

Meanwhile, Patterson, who was a Steinbrenner High teammate of FIU third-string quarterback Haden Carlson, arrived at FIU in 2021, playing three games and catching three passes for 34 yards.

Fournet also arrived in 2021, playing one game and logging zero catches.

Both Fournet and Patterson were recruited by the previous coaching staff, led by Butch Davis, and they had to prove themselves when Mike MacIntyre was hired in December.

That was especially true because MacIntyre had a lot of receivers to choose from. In fact, even after Bryce Singleton left to try the NFL, Shemar Thornton transferred to Northern Illinois and Teddy Richardson retired due to medical reasons, FIU still had 15 wide receivers not named Fournet or Patterson.

Yet, Patterson was named a starter on the first depth chart of the season, and Fournet is a second-stringer.

Jay MacIntyre said Fournet has earned the nickname “Captain America” because he does everything right.

Patterson doesn’t have the nickname, but his work ethic is identical.

“We gave everyone a clean slate this spring,” Jay MacIntyre said. “The best players are going to play. The players who come to work every day are going to play. Those two guys (Patterson and Fournet) did that, and they outperformed the (other) guys.

“You can ask anyone in that locker-room. Dean and Ross block. They run the right routes. They know all the signals. They have done everything we’ve asked and more.

“That’s why they’re on scholarship, and that’s why they’re playing.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 8:00 AM.