Luis D. Gutierrez/Staff Writer
There isn’t much to speculate about FIU’s f
Photo by Andres Bedoya
irst depth chart released during media day on Aug. 14. Usually the case, the team picked to finish first in its own conference is the one that answers the fewest questions on the field.
Jake Medlock enters his first season at the helm for the Panthers at quarterback. Having played in five games last season, Medlock takes over for Wes Carroll carrying his experience as an advantage over redshirt freshman Loranzo Hammonds and true freshman E.J. Hilliard. Although uncertainty lingers over the state of Offensive Coordinator Tim Cramsey’s new offense, head coach Mario Cristobal affirms that Medlock is capable of leading the offense on Saturdays.
“Physically speaking, he feels better than he’s ever felt since his freshman year,” Cristobal said of Medlock during media day. “Mentally speaking, he is where the coaches want him to be right now, there is a considerable gap between him and the other two quarterbacks.”
Despite the “considerable gap,” Cristobal expressed enthusiasm over his two backup quarterbacks Hammonds and Hilliard – emphasizing they can both contribute sooner rather than later.
“We feel they’re both capable of helping us win, rather than just helping us get by,” Cristobal said. “They are different style quarterbacks, but they are both accurate and if you are efficient and accurate while running our offense, you definitely have a chance to compete.”
FIU enters the 2012 campaign without the valuable services of T.Y. Hilton, the program’s all-time leading receiver who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2012 draft. Hence, Panther coaches and fans are anxious to see a new spark plug ignite within the receiving corps. Cristobal shined a bright light upon the receivers stating they had shown great improvement as a unit from the end of the 2011 season.
“The receivers are playing with a chip on their shoulder,” Cristobal said. “They want to get out of the shadows and I hope that shadow is enormous, so that they fight every day to get out of it.”
With a more athletic bunch, opportunities will arise aplenty for new receivers to contribute in a new offense.
“The receivers are a lot bigger than they have been in a long time,” Cristobal said. “Everything has been real positive not just catching the football, but in the amount of pride they are taking in perimeter blocking, which usually spurs the long runs that lead to home run hits.”
With an offensive line that starts four seniors and a highly-touted defense bringing back sixteen upperclassmen, the Panthers will sport the 18th most experienced team of 124 Football Bowl Subdivision programs this season, according to Phil Steele of CBS Sports. Cristobal sees this experience as a key asset in the ultimate goal of a third consecutive bowl berth.
“Your team will be as good as your seniors will take you,” Cristobal said. “Our seniors have taken the opportunity to coach and mentor our young guys. I think it says a lot when seniors like Tourek Williams and Winston Fraser will get after each other if they feel they are not performing to their maximum capabilities.”
With a senior-laden depth chart, expectations are presumed to be higher within the program, but Cristobal wouldn’t want it any other way.
“We want to get to the point where expectations become higher and higher each year,” Cristobal said. “As a program, we are currently taking the right steps in accomplishing that.”
luis.gutierrez@fiusm.com
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