Ex-Broward County standout to start at quarterback for Middle Tennessee against FIU
Former University School coach Daniel Luque clearly recalls the first time he saw Nicholas Vattiato play football.
Luque had been asked to serve as a volunteer coach of a sixth-grade team that included Vattiato at quarterback.
“He was this short, skinny white kid who could really throw,” Luque said. “We played a tournament game in Georgia, and Nick took a hard hit on his ribs. He started crying.
“On his next play, he threw a long pass for a touchdown – an absolute dime.”
Three years later, as a University School freshman, Vattiato made his first varsity start, passing for 385 yards and five TDs in a 35-20 win over Archbishop McCarthy. That led to a prep career that included three first-team All-State awards and one trip to the state semifinals.
On Saturday, Vattiato – now a 6-1, 195-pound redshirt sophomore at Middle Tennessee State University (2-7, 1-4) – will start against visiting FIU (4-5, 1-5) in a Conference USA game at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
This will be Vattiato’s second career start against FIU. As a true freshman in 2021, Vattiato completed 20-of-24 passes for 147 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions in a 50-10 home win over the Panthers.
“That was my first collegiate win as a starter,” Vattiato told the Miami Herald this week. “I will remember that game for as long as I live.”
Vattiato, a 21-year-old who is majoring in exercise science, said he was recruited “pretty hard” by FIU’s previous coaching staff, led by Butch Davis.
“(Former FIU recruiting coordinator) Tim Harris was calling me two or three times per week during COVID,” Vattiato said. “I don’t hold any grudges toward FIU.”
Quite the contrary.
Vattiato is good friends with injured FIU running back Lexington Joseph. Vattiato also played with FIU cornerback Jamal Potts and with linebacker Keegan Davis on travel-ball teams.
Saturday’s game will actually pit two starting quarterbacks from South Florida. FIU true freshman Keyone Jenkins, who is set to make his eighth start on Saturday, won three state titles at Miami Central.
“It’s going to be pretty cool to seeing another QB from South Florida,” Vattiato said.
Vattiato is a little ahead of Jenkins, 19, when it comes to college experience. Vattiato started a total of five games in 2021, setting a school record for single-game passing yards by a freshman with 304 against Old Dominion.
He was also named to Conference USA’s All-Freshman team and was the Bahamas Bowl’s Offensive MVP, passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-24 win over Toledo.
Last year, Vattiato played just two games as he was beaten out for the starting job by senior Chase Cunningham.
This season, Vattiato has started all nine games, completing 66.8 percent of his passes for career highs in yards (2,334) and touchdowns (16). He has been intercepted nine times.
The Raiders have lost four one-score games, and that includes close defeats to Missouri and 9-0 Liberty.
In two games this season against SEC teams – Alabama and Missouri – Vattiato completed 43-of-68 passes for 346 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception.
And, in the Raiders’ two games against the top C-USA powers – Liberty and Jacksonville State – Vattiato passed for 740 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions.
None of this is a surprise to his high school coach.
“I knew right away this kid was a leader,” Luque said. “He commands the huddle and has the respect of all his teammates.
“In four years at University School, he missed just two practices, and that was because he was on college visits to Louisville and Wake Forest.
“Nick is a winner.”
THIS AND THAT
▪ Middle Tennessee has two other players from South Florida on its roster: wide receiver Kelani Norris (Columbus) and offensive lineman Jamari Williams (Cardinal Gibbons). Norris has eight catches this year, including one for a TD.
▪ Jenkins was just seven years old the last time the Panthers won at Middle Tennessee. Overall, Middle Tennessee has won four straight games against FIU, and the Blue Raiders lead the series 13-5. Worse for FIU, the Raiders are 8-1 at home against FIU. In fact, the only time in program history that FIU won at Middle Tennessee was in 2011, when the Panthers prevailed 31-18.
▪ In Saturday’s game, FIU may have the best player on each side of the ball.
Middle linebacker Donovan Manuel leads C-USA with 1.39 tackles for losses per game. He also ranks third in the nation in forced fumbles per game and 14th in total tackles.
Wide receiver Kris Mitchell leads the league in receiving yards (820) and receiving yards per game (91.1). He is 15th in the nation in both stats, and, with three games left, Mitchell is on pace to become the third player in FIU history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in one season, joining T.Y. Hilton and Tyrese Chambers.