Patrick Chalvire/Staff Writer
Tuesday morning brought more energy and enthusiasm to FIU stadium as the Panthers were back in practice on day two of pads. The cool weather also came out in full effect for practice, but that did not slow down the pace one bit.
The defense for the Panthers came out strong even before practice officially began. Coming out of the locker room everyone on and off the field could hear the voice of Markeith Russell, a redshirt senior linebacker, all hyped and ready to take on a new day.
“Linebackers are traditionally known as the quarterback of the defense,” said Tom Williams, linebackers coach for the Panthers. “You got to be vocal to get a lot of the communications made defensively, so Markeith fits that model.”
During scrimmages, the offense didn’t finish as well as hoped, courtesy of the defense. There were more dropped passes than completions, but both backup quarterbacks, E.J Hilliard and Akil Dan-Fodio, and receivers did get more practice time which may fall into why there were some more missed opportunities.
Senior running back Kedrick Rhodes understood it was a slow day for the offense as a whole. On the bright side, Rhodes sees Tuesday morning as a minor bump in the road as the offense, as well as the rest of the running backs, continue to learn under a new system.
“Today was a down day for the offense,” said Rhodes. “We’re just getting a new playbook, so everything should be coming around soon.”
Alongside Rhodes comes a plethora of running backs both talented and with the same style as Rhodes, as well as what the coaches are looking for. Last season Rhodes spent some time on the sideline due to injury.
So far this spring, Rhodes feels great and back ready to go, but he knows if he hits a roadblock or takes a play or two off to rest, the offense won’t struggle without their senior leader. Something Rhodes doesn’t mind at all.
“I can come out and get a breather and know we won’t go wrong. We wont miss a beat,” Rhodes said.
Helping to bring the new pro-style offense to the running backs will be the job for new assistant coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker. The past two practices in pads, or live practice, have given Hayes-Stoker a better understanding of what must be dealt with and improved on through out these next few weeks.
As a team last season, the Panthers fumbled the ball 29 times. Though most of the fumbles did not necessarily come from the running backs position last season, time in practice has shown Hayes-Stoker early on that protection is key.
“There are areas we need to improve on,” said Hayes-Stoker. “Ball security is one that stands out to me right now. We had too many turnovers, the ball was on the ground. And then our blitz pickup and blitz recognition. Being able to handle that pressure and able to execute as an offense, obviously is what gives you a chance to win.”
Earlier in the spring, Jerico Lee, who missed out of last season for personal reasons, had been practicing with the running backs as a possible fullback for the Panthers. Lee had even been seen on campus carrying around a football, but not Tuesday morning as he was back in a blue jersey alongside the defensive linemen.
Lee had been willing and able to play any position asked of him. According to Head Coach Ron Turner during the first spring practice, he seemed to have the body type of a fullback. Hayes-Stoker didn’t take anything away from Lee, but felt his talents were best suited back to where he began his FIU career.
“Fullback we really expect that position to be a guy that can pound and hammer,” said Hayes-Stoker. “We pulled him over because we thought he might have some trace to play fullback, we evaluated him, and we thought he fit better on the defensive side of the ball right now.”
About Post Author
