FIU brings in a big receiver with a unique set of skills

At 6-5 and 210 pounds, wide receiver Alex Perry should help FIU in ways besides catching the football.

“As a team, we emphasize blocking, and, as a big receiver, I love to put my hands on people and feel when the defender can’t do anything,” Perry said. “[Defensive backs] get upset because you’re being so physical.

“A lot of people don’t expect receivers to be [physical], but I love to block.”

FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins said Perry is “probably the tallest receiver I’ve ever played with.”

Perry, though, has yet to put up big numbers in the passing game. In the past three years, Perry caught one pass as a true freshman; 24 passes as a redshirt freshman; and 22 passes as a redshirt sophomore.

Overall, he has three touchdowns and a career average of 10.2 yards per reception.

Perry arrived at FIU too late for spring practice, so he is trying to catch up, spending as much time with Jenkins as possible.

“I want to make sure our timing matches up perfectly,” Perry said.

“It’s not too big of an adjustment going to a lefty quarterback [such as Jenkins]. I love the way he throws the ball — it’s a soft, perfect ball.

“The way he layers the ball is great. He can put the ball over a linebacker instead of throwing it where it might get tipped up and intercepted. He has great touch.”

Perry is a Florida guy who was a football and basketball star at Port Charlotte High. In fact, as a senior, he broke the basketball program’s all-time record for most points in a game with 49.

It is because of that basketball ability, Perry said, that he can box out defenders when the ball is thrown his way.

“When the ball is in the air, I try to make my catch radius as big as I can,” Perry said. “I extend my arms to create a barrier between me and the defender.

“I use my body any way I can, whether it is separation at the top of a route, using my weight or just going up and using my basketball background to grab the ball.”

Perry is confident he can help end FIU’s streak of six straight losing seasons, but first he needs to get acclimated to Miami’s heat and humidity.

On Wednesday, FIU’s first practice of the fall, Perry wore down, and Jenkins noticed.

“He was a little dead today,” said Jenkins, who is not afraid to call out a teammate. “We’re going to get on him about that.”

Perry admitted that the heat got to him.

“But that’s what camp is for,” Perry said. “You can’t really prepare for football shape until you get into it.

“Being in Hawaii for three years, it kind of reset me. I have to get back in the flow of it because it’s hotter now than it was in the spring. It’s an adjustment.”

THIS AND THAT

• FIU coach Willie Simmons said finding offensive linemen he can trust is a priority for fall camp.

“Keyone is the engine of our team, but we’ll go as far as our offensive line takes us,” Simmons said. “We brought in four new linemen over the summer, and we’ll see what combination of five and hopefully up to 10 guys come out of camp as our core group.”

• Jenkins on FIU in 2025: “It’s going to be an amazing year. I don’t want to say too much, but … we’re coming.”

This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 3:04 PM.