Florida International 2005 Season | Team Page	Select Conference ACC Big East Big Ten Big 12 Conference USA Independents MAC Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC Select Team

Special Athlon offer for SI.com readers

The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Don Strock (2nd season of 1-A, 5-6) 2005 record: 5-6 Sun Belt finish: 3-4 (t-4th) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: n/a (122.6 ypg) Passing: n/a (235.6 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: n/a (163.8 ypg) Passing: n/a (211.8 ypg) Date Opponent Aug. 31 at Middle Tennessee Sep. 9 at South Florida Sep. 16 Bowling Green Sep. 23 at Maryland Sep. 30 Arkansas State Oct. 14 at Miami Oct. 21 at North Texas Oct. 28 at Alabama Nov. 4 UL Monroe Nov. 18 UL Lafayette Nov. 25 at Florida Atlantic Dec. 2 Troy Depth Chart: Offense 5 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. SE 9 Reggie Thompson So. - John H. Whiddon Fr. FL 1 Chandler Williams Sr. 4 Sanchez Anderson So. LT 78 Dustin Gibson So. 51 Danny Muy Fr. LG 74 Mike Alvarez Jr. 60 Brian Kelleher Fr. C 63 Xavier Shannon So. 74 Mike Alvarez Jr. RG 61 Ronny Silva Sr. - Jeff Eugene Jr. RT 71 David Bailey Sr. 73 Anthony Russo Fr. TE 87 Samuel Smith Sr. 89 Moses Hinton So. QB 16 Josh Padrick Sr. 2 Tavares Kendrick So. FB 27 John Ellis Fr. - Chance Attaway Fr. TB 3 A'mod Ned So. 32 Julian Reams So. Depth Chart: Defense 6 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 42 Antwan Barnes Sr. 57 Venson Jones Jr. NT 62 Roland Clarke Jr. - Reggie Jones So. DT 92 Jonas Murrell So. - Sheldon Jacques Fr. DE 48 Myron Acoff So. - Joey Myers Fr. SLB 46 James Black Sr. 45 Alexander Bostic Sr. MLB 7 Keyonvis Bouie Sr. 56 Wendy Napoleon Fr. WLB 45 Alexander Bostic Sr. 28 Jeremiah Weatherspoon So. CB 22 Lionell Singleton Jr. 20 Kent Henderson So. CB 25 Zach Davis Sr. 17 Robert Mitchell So. SS 26 Chris Smith Sr. 28 Jeremiah Weatherspoon So. FS 24 Marshall McDuffie Jr. 20 Kent Henderson So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 15 Chris Patullo Sr. KR 4 Sanchez Anderson So. P 11 Dustin Rivest Fr. PR 4 Sanchez Anderson So.

To order your 2006 Athlon Sports annual and receive $1 off plus free shipping courtesy of SI.com, click here.

The Golden Panthers exceeded most outside expectations by finishing 5-6 last season, including the first three Division I-A victories of the program's four years of existence.

Now that FIU is eligible to play in a bowl game for the first time, the Panthers will try to ride quarterback Josh Padrick, linebacker Keyonvis Bouie and wideout Chandler Williams to a Sun Belt crown, a ludicrous idea this time last year.

As long as the Golden Panthers save face through a numbing gauntlet of non-conference games against Alabama, Miami, Maryland and South Florida, they could be the surprise of the South. "It's the old saying: If you want to be the best you've got to play the best," coach Don Strock says. "I like to see these as measuring-stick games, see how we measure up against teams like this."

OFFENSE

Entering his third year as the starter at quarterback, Padrick is the unquestioned captain of the FIU offense. The second-team All-Sun Belt signal-caller averaged a league-high 223.7 passing yards and completed 221-of-366 attempts for 2,461 yards in '05. A sure sign of Padrick's growth was his diminishing interception rate last season. Seven of the senior's 11 picks occurred in the Panthers' first five games.

Leading rusher Ben West has departed, but he was one of three tailbacks the Golden Panthers leaned on heavily last season. The other two, sophomores A'mod Ned and Julian Reams, are tailbacks 1 and 1A in '06. Ned is the 175-pound slasher who rushed for three scores and 375 yards as a redshirt freshman. At 208 pounds, Reams slammed forward for his 322 yards in 2005.

Williams, a senior flanker, will be Padrick's soulmate in the FIU passing game after setting a school record with 61 catches last fall. A nice safety valve is senior tight end Samuel Smith, like Williams a second-team All-Sun Belt selection who ranked third on the Panthers with 35 receptions last year despite missing the last three games with a sprained MCL.

Four-fifths of the 2005 regular starting offensive line has departed, but the Golden Panthers have a seasoned patch or two to affix along the offensive front. Ronny Silva, a 346-pound senior from Miami, is back at right guard, and University of South Florida transfer David Bailey, also a senior, projects next to Silva at right tackle.

DEFENSE

Bouie, a senior and a first-team All-Sun Belt pick last year, is back in the middle to terrorize opposing offenses. The rangy 225-pound senior led the conference in tackles, intercepted a team-high three passes and blocked a punt last season.

The Golden Panthers' rush defense improved immensely last season, thanks to the emergence of defensive ends Antwan Barnes and Myron Acoff. From the wide end, Barnes racked up 11 sacks and 15.5 tackles for a loss while earning first-team All-Sun Belt honors.

Sun Belt foes went to work on Florida International's secondary last season, to the tune of 211.8 passing yards per game and an outrageous 66.9 completion percentage, easily the worst in the league. Hoping to remedy that are two returning starters - junior corner Lionell Singleton and senior safety Chris Smith.

SPECIALISTS

Chris Patullo waited his turn behind Adam Moss; now the all-around athlete has the placekicking job all to himself. At punter, true freshman Chris Cook will challenge redshirt frosh Dustin Rivest for the starting nod.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Strock paid an administrative price for his team's surprising 5-6 season when he lost three assistants - defensive coordinator Bernard Clark, running backs coach Tony Nathan and defensive line coach Clint Hurtt - to the professional or major college ranks.

Still, the ball is rolling in the right direction at Miami's "other" program. The Golden Panthers have all-conference talent at quarterback, defensive end, linebacker and wide receiver. They won four of their last five games last season, but FIU must improve on the fringes. The Golden Panthers' minus-9 turnover margin in league play will not stand. The secondary needs to produce more break-ups and picks; opponents completed 68.2 percent of their pass attempts last year. A running game behind Julian Reams and A'mod Ned must evolve to prevent Padrick from shouldering the burden himself. The offensive line, featuring four new starters, will need time to jell, but the defensive front seven, anchored by Barnes and Bouie, is more talented and experienced than any of FIU's previous four teams. The tenor could be set in FIU's first game, a road date with Sun Belt rival Middle Tennessee.

Preview another team: Select Conference ACC Big East Big 10 Big 12 Conference USA Independents MAC Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC

Select Team