By Brett Shweky/Sports Director
Defensive end Fermin Silva was named the Conference USA Football Defensive Player of the Week, for the week of Oct. 14. This is the first conference accolade of Silva’s collegiate career.
The Miami native recorded eight solo tackles and two sacks in FIU’s 23-10 victory over Tulane on Saturday, Oct. 14.
The junior defensive linemen discussed that achieving the conference award would not have been possible without the help from the rest of the team.
“First, I want to say thank you to my teammates. The other ten guys on the field with me, we’ve been grinding it out,” said Silva. “I wasn’t able to have that good of a game without my teammates and to be honest I was just doing my job. Coach [Davis] was telling us all week just do your job and the plays will come to you.”
One of Silva’s sacks came on a crucial fourth-and-eighth on the Panthers’ 17-yard line with 2:24 remaining left in the game, forcing Tulane to turn the ball over on downs.
Silva explained that with it being such a critical play, him and the rest of his teammates gave it their all to stop Tulane’s driving offense.
“It was the last down, they were going to score if we didn’t stop them and they would’ve been back in the game,” Silva said. “So you know I just gave it my all. I knew it was going to be a pass play, so I was just worried about getting to the ball and luckily I got the sack.”
On the season, Silva ranks sixth on the team in tackles with 23 and leads the team in sacks with three. Silva also ranks fourth in the conference with nine tackles for loss.
Last season, Silva finished as the number six tackler on the team with 42 total tackles. The Miami Central alumni lead the entire team last year in sacks with five and also managed to secure 5.5 tackles for loss.
Defensive line coach Kenny Holmes explained that Silva is exceptional talent on defense, however needs to show that talent on a more frequent basis.
“To have a player that is a talented as Fermin could be, as a coach you want see more consistency from him,” said Holmes. “You want to see it more each and every week we play. He’s embraced that challenge and he’s given it his all. His practice habits have improved tremendously and it shows on Saturdays.”
This is the second weekly conference award for FIU so far this season. Punter Stone Wilson earned the C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week honor for the week ending in Sept. 30.
The Panthers (4-2) will continue their season as the team travels to Huntington, West Virginia for a matchup against the Marshall Thundering Herd on Oct. 28. Kickoff at Joan C. Edwards stadium will be at 2:30 p.m.
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