FIU’s Rivaldo Fairweather makes case for more passes to be thrown his way

FIU tight end Rivaldo Fairweather knew his stats.

And they weren’t good.

“First quarter, second quarter, third quarter – I had one catch (total) and four yards,” Fairweather said of his performance on Friday night in FIU’s 42-34 double-overtime win over Louisiana Tech.

“But I stayed patient, stayed positive. I trusted my team, trusted my quarterback (Grayson James).”

Good thing he did because Fairweather finished the game with six catches for a game-high 89 yards.

Fairweather was particularly heroic on FIU’s 13-play, 69-yard drive that led to a field goal with just 16 seconds left in regulation, sending the game to overtime.

During that drive – which started with just 1:45 on the clock – Fairweather picked up three first downs, catching passes for 19, 22, 8 and 11 yards.

“Grayson trusted me, and I loved it,” Fairweather said. “I was feeling it.”

James said Fairweather is a “big mismatch” against defenders who can’t keep up with his speed or match his size.

“You saw what he is capable of,” James said of the 6-5, 245-pound Fairweather. “But we (FIU coaches and teammates) knew that about Rivaldo already.”

After his breakout performance, Fairweather leads FIU tight ends in reception yards (193). He has 16 catches for a 12.1 average, but he has yet to find the end zone this season.

A third-year sophomore out of Boyd Anderson High in Lauderdale Lakes, Fairweather scored one touchdown in 2020 and one in 2021. He needs one more catch to break his career high of 16 receptions, which he set last year.

FIU coach Mike MacIntyre raved about Fairweather following Friday’s game.

“Rivaldo made some – woop – unbelievable catches,” MacIntyre said in a sentence that came complete with a sound effect. “Rivaldo is fun to watch.

“Just check out his smile. He uplifts me.”

MacIntyre was asked if Friday’s effort could be the start of something bigger for Fairweather, meaning more passes headed his way.

“Tight end is a hard position to play,” MacIntyre said. “You have to block, and sometimes (defenses) have different coverages. A tight end has to be unselfish.”

Fairweather plays on all of FIU’s special teams, which is why MacIntyre favors rotating him with Josiah Miamen.

“I like to keep Rivaldo fresh,” MacIntyre said. “I’d like everybody to get the ball, but I don’t want to throw it 80 times.

“Rivaldo is a weapon. When it’s his time, he will make plays. We have other things for him that we haven’t used yet. That will come up at different times this season.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ FIU (4-4, 2-2) will visit the North Texas Mean Green (5-4, 4-1) in a Conference USA matchup at 4 p.m. on Saturday. North Texas routed FIU 49-7 last year.

▪ North Texas is tied for the lead in C-USA in points per game (35.6). FIU is last in the league in points scored (21.1).

▪ MacIntyre said FIU starting cornerback Andrew Volmar is “the most improved player on our defense since the spring.”