FIU Panthers Team Preview
FIU Panthers Team Preview
Head Coach: Willie Simmons – At School: 1st Year; Overall: (45-13) 6 yrs
OC : Nick Coleman; DC: Jovan Dewitt
2024 Record: 4-8 (3-5)
Impact Players: QB Keyone Jenkins, RB Kejon Owens, RB Ajay Allen, WR Alex Perry, DT Jamarrion Solomon, S Wesley Hill, CB Brian Blades, DE Keegan Davis
Offense:
The college football landscape in 2025 is almost entirely dependent on the new transfer portal rules. FIU is no exception to that trend. With only 2 returning starters on offense, the Panthers will have to rely on transfers to build out the rest of an offense that ranked in the bottom 3rd of the country. The good news is one of those returning starters is dual-threat QB Keyone Jenkins, who totaled 24 TDs in his second season as the starter. The rest of the offense is a question mark. Transfers at WR and OL will hope to fill the gaps, while the RB group should be a strength for the FIU offense.
Defense:
Like the offense, the Panther defense only returns 2 starters from 2024. The majority of the defensive production is gone via the transfer portal for a defense that was one of the brighter spots during last year’s 4-8 season. Look for returning starters, DE Keegan Davis (3.5 sacks in ‘24) and CB Brian Blades (Def TD in ‘24) to be the leaders on that side of the ball. Along with transfer S Wesley Hill, who previously played at FIU before transferring to Illinois, these three will look to help the defense continue the momentum from the previous year and help the new faces gel quickly.
Analysis:
Willie Simmons was very successful during his time as an HBCU HC. FIU will be a different challenge and in some ways will be his biggest challenge yet. FIU has just 13 wins over the past 5 seasons and with the loss of production on both sides of the ball to the transfer portal, this season won’t prove to be any easier. The good news is Jenkins and Blades are back leading their respective units. If transfer additions are a hit, the Panthers may have enough to be pesky in the CUSA, but a bowl game remains out of reach for the time being.
2025 Record Floor: 2-10
2025 Record Ceiling: 5-7
2025 Record Prediction: 3-9