By Brett Shweky/Sports Director
Going into his final season with the Panthers, FIU’s all-time leading rusher Alex Gardner wants to do more than just add onto his own legacy. He wants to help establish the culture change within the FIU football program.
“For the culture change to happen, we need to build a foundation. I want to be part of the foundation,” explained Gardner. “As upperclassmen, we need to help set the new standard for the incoming freshman and also the new players on the team. Setting the new standard will provide a winning mindset going forward for the team.”
Gardner continued to explain that newly hired head coach, Butch Davis, has been the key factor in bringing the culture change to the football team.
“When coach Davis first came in, when we had the first meeting, he gave so much encouragement to the team,” said Gardner. “He showed that he truly believed in us as a team. This was huge in my opinion because to have someone to come in and not even really know us and show a team that much belief made us in a sense believe in ourselves even more.”
The senior running back has already broken multiple career records with the Panthers. When the 2016 season came to end, Gardner became FIU’s all-time career leading rusher with 2,272 rushing yard and currently ranks third in career touchdowns with 16. The Jacksonville, Florida native also had eight career games where he rushed 100 yards or more, the most by any FIU player.
Gardner has proven to be a multi-dimensional player for the Panthers’ offense, setting the career record for receiving yards by a running back with 681 yards and the career record for receptions with 98.
Regardless of the statistics however, Gardner truly wants to leave his mark on the program by being able to bring the Panthers back to a bowl game.
“Getting us back to a bowl game and getting this team more recognition is my biggest goal before I graduate,” said Gardner. “I want to have it where more people want to come play here, so that we can establish a tradition within the football program. In previous years, we’ve been so close to making a bowl game. To bring FIU back to a bowl game would be a huge
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