FIU football coach Willie Simmons breaks down Panthers’ 2025 recruiting class
FIU’s football recruiting class for 2025 – the first under new coach Willie Simmons -- is ranked No. 1 in Conference USA, according to rivals.com.
The Panthers are also ranked fifth in the conference by 247 Sports.
Five of Simmons’ 21 signees played at FIU’s Pitbull Stadium in December as they competed in 2024 state championship finals.
Those five are St. Thomas Aquinas offensive lineman Matias Garcia; Chaminade defensive linemen Matthew Pointer and Anthony Smith; Jacksonville Raines defensive end King Massey; and Gadsden County defensive back Christian Barrett.
Simmons, in a recent interview with The Miami Herald, talked about all 21 of his recruits, and here are some of his comments, position by position:
▪ Quarterback: Christian Langford, a 6-2, 205-pound dual-threat QB from Georgia, led Langston Hughes High to a 13-2 record and a state final in 2024.
Langford, who also ran track, rejected offers from UCF, Liberty and Troy.
“He has a world of ability,” Simmons said. “He’s an explosive athlete, and we’re looking to see him compete right away.”
▪ Running Back: Miami Edison’s Sterling Joseph is on the small side (5-8, 175), but Simmons raved about his character, including a 4.5 grade-point average. Joseph is the younger brother of former FIU running back Flex Joseph.
“He will come into a loaded backfield,” Simmons said. “But he brings a dynamic ability that maybe some of our returning guys don’t have.”
▪ Wide Receiver: FIU signed Amari Isaac (Hollywood Hills); Tyson Carter (Orlando Edgewater); and Kenny Williams (Gulliver Prep). All three players had committed under the previous coaching staff. And all three are on the small side for the position, between 5-9 and 6-foot.
“All three of them are fast,” Simmons said.
▪ Tight end: FIU signed Sean Burke (South Broward) and Jackson Verdugo (Texas).
Simmons calls said Burke, who is 6-5, has gained 15 pounds of muscle in one month, up to 225. He is the younger brother of ex-FIU left tackle Travis Burke, who is listed at 6-9 and 305 pounds.
Simmons hinted that Sean Burke is a project.
“We call him “Bambi’ because he can barely stand up straight and run,” Simmons said. “But he has growth potential and a top of upside.”
Verdugo, a 6-4, 235-pound, first-team All-Texas player, caught 141 passes for 1,981 yards and 22 touchdowns over the past three years.
▪ Offensive linemen: When Simmons was hired on Dec. 7, FIU had only one o-lineman committed – Miami Central’s Jeremy Smith.
“That’s the one position where we were concerned,” Simmons said.
In response, FIU signed four more o-linemen, including two who can play center/guard: Marc Michel Jr. and the aforementioned Garcia.
FIU also signed Jacksonville’s Takaylen “TK” Muex and Oviedo’s Nathan Tveit.
“Muex was heavily recruited before a knee injury caused teams to back off,” Simmons said. “He could get early playing time.”
Simmons said Tveit – a 340-pounder with offers from Miami, Louisville and others -- is a “steal.”
Smith, a 6-5, 250-pounder, needs to get weight, but he “probably has the most upside of any of our offensive linemen,” Simmons said.
▪ Defensive linemen: Similar to the o-line, FIU loaded up here, signing five players.
FIU added three edge rushers: Jacksonville’s King Massey; Chaminade’s Matthew Pointer; and Pahokee’s Kani Smith.
“King has huge hands, long arms and a high motor,” Simmons said. “Pointer and Kani Smith were listed as linebacker, but we project them at defensive end.”
Indeed, Kani Smith recorded 31 tackles for losses and 17½ sacks over the past two years. Massey, as a senior, had 23 tackles for losses and seven sacks.
In the interior of the defensive line, Anthony Smith produced 30 tackles for losses over the past two years.
He is listed at 6-1 and 310 pounds, but Simmons said that’s actually his target weight.
“He has a Vincent Wilfork body type,” Simmons said. “We need to trim Anthony down a little bit.
“But to be his size, he moves extremely well. We’re excited to have a true interior presence who can move the pile and be disruptive.”
Then there’s Aydan Clinton, a 6-7, 280-pounder from St. Petersburg who was going to try to play college basketball until changing his mind in January.
“He has the highest ceiling of any player in this class – even more than Jeremy Smith,” Simmons said. “Aydan has the physical tools be an NFL player.”
▪ Linebacker: FIU expects an early impact from Pompano Ely’s Cameron Davis.
“He looks like Division I Iinebacker right now,” Simmons said. “He’s over 6-1, and he’s over 210 pounds.”
▪ Defensive backs: FIU signed Kelvin Reyes, an instinctive safety from West Broward who will miss the spring due to a knee injury, but Simmons said he can be a “dynamic ballhawk.”
FIU also signed Jessiah McGrew from Tallahassee and Christian Barrett of Gadsden County. McGrew’s older brother, Ahmari Harvey, is a starting cornerback at Georgia Tech.
“Jessiah is over 6-1, and we’re going to start him at safety,” Simmons said of McGrew, who intercepted eight passes and played 38 games in his prep career.
“But he has the athleticism to play cornerback if need be and the physicality to play in the slot. Once we signed him, a lot of bigger programs said we got a steal.”
Barrett could be special since he is unusually long for a cornerback at 6-3.
SUMMARY
Of FIU’s 21 signees, 19 are from Florida, one from Georgia and one from Texas. Twelve play offense, and nine play defense. Seven are from Broward, and three are from Miami-Dade.
“It’s a balanced class with at least one player at every position,” Simmons said. “We got five offensive linemen and five defensive linemen – that’s the foundation. We got speed at receiver. We got length at defensive back, and we got a trigger man (Langford) who puts a bow on the class.
“We don’t go by ratings, but to be named the No. 1 class by rivals in Conference USA with our staff just coming in shows how we embrace recruiting.”