COMMENTARY: Key storylines highlight 2011 FIU football season

By: Brandon Wise / Staff Writer

The honeymoon is over. A new football year is getting set to begin at FIU. New players have begun to earn respect and take over for ones that have graduated.

With a few story lines looming prior to Thursday’s opener, it is finally time to see whether this team will be able to do it all over again.

T.Y. for Heisman

As silly as this campaign sounds, it has brought attention to the football program. With electrifying returns and elusive moves, Hilton has been the clear-cut focal point of the Golden Panther offense the past three seasons. The Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year has all of the intangibles that you look for in a star college athlete. With the team’s success last year, Hilton was able to showcase what he can do on a national stage.

In FIU’s first ever bowl game, Hilton had three catches for 32 yards and a touchdown as well as a kick return for a touchdown. The senior has made a name for himself on ESPN and has a chance to bring even more attention to the program, especially with seven nationally televised games this year.

With all of this attention, however, comes a lot of pressure. He could very easily fall under the weight of the hype that our own athletic program has put on him. Although he’s proved naysayers wrong for the past three years, it’ll be a very difficult task to live up to such high aspirations.

Offensive Line needs some solidifying

One thing was for certain in the past four years–Brad Serini was your starting center.

Times have changed. Brad is gone.

And with that a huge hole at center will need to be filled. The replacement throughout training camp was Giancarlo Revilla, who Serini took under his wing. But recently Cedric Davis, who returned from injury, has made a case for that starting spot. Now the two have been splitting time and a clear-cut number one has yet to be determined.

To have success at this level of football, an offensive line is a key characteristic. With a solidified offensive line comes a leader who can control his line. This can be more than just the center though. For the Golden Panthers, Caylin Hauptmann will need to be that guy to take over and lead the offensive line.In order to become that leader in the trenches, Hauptmann will need to eliminate the mental mistakes that held the offense back at times last season. The Junior from Los Angeles led the team in penalties his first season as a Golden Panther.

Running Back: Take a number, it might get called

The offense goes as the running backs go.  Last year, four running backs touched the ball at least forty times during games. The offense is dependent on three different running backs to pick up large chunks of yards for them. When an offense is forced to rely on a slew of backs at the position, the team normally suffers.

The way that the offense is run, it would only benefit from having a standout running back always being there. For example, North Texas and Western Kentucky have been able to make the most out of their running backs. Although those teams have not seen the results in the standings, Lance Dunbar (North Texas) and Bobby Rainey (WKU) are two of the best running backs in the Sun Belt Conference.

Darriet Perry should be the every down back.

But Head Coach Mario Cristobal likes to use a stable of backs to change the pace and make the other teams’ game plan for that much more. But, with one player getting the bulk of the carries, it could only help to set up everything else.

With that being said, players like Darrian Mallary, Jeremiah Harden and Kendrick Rhodes will all see carries again this year. I could even see red shirt freshmen Robert Boswell seeing some time.

The running back by committee worked out last year; expect to see it yet again this year.

Transfers Transition

Over the past few weeks, there have been some interesting happenings with the football team. A couple of highly touted recruits have decided to bring their talents back down to Florida after trying to move out of state to play. James Louis (Ohio State) and Daquan Hargrett (West Virginia) both chose to transfer back down to FIU. Both played in high school, Louis at Atlantic High in Delray Beach and Hargrett at Miami Northwestern. Although they had many options coming out of high school to go wherever they wanted, their new lifestyle did not become what they expected, presumably for family reasons.

Although it is uncertain yet if they can play, both Louis and Hargret may be granted eligibility for this season. If so, Hargrett would then join an ever-crowded backfield, which is now up to eight players. To expect Hargrett to walk in and take Perry or Mallary’s position is naive, but it is not hard to see him getting the third most touches of the packed group. Of the lot, expect at least one of those backs to change positions because eight is way too much to carry in the stable at once.

Louis could definitely jump in and show what he has. With Senior Greg Ellingson leaving last year, a hole was left that still needs to be filled. For the time being, Wayne Times has been able to garner the role of number two receiver, until Louis gets a shot on the field.

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