FIU Football Kicks Off 2024 Spring Schedule

MIAMI - On Tuesday, FIU football kicked off year number three of the Mike MacIntyre era with their first day of spring practice.

"This is the most mature team we've had since I've been here," said FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre. "[Practice] was a lot smoother, a lot more fluid. We had a good number of players, so we were able to practice on two fields, which I like to do to get repetitions, get all the young guys, get the reps they need to get and any of our new transfers or junior college guys, we can get them more reps."

Some of the most noticeable changes were players in new positions. Antonio Patterson, one of the first players MacIntyre brought in when he arrived, is changing from running back to safety.

"He actually came to me," said MacIntyre when asked about the switch. "We have talked about it. I've seen him play in high school a lot since he's from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and when I was at Memphis and different areas, I had seen him play a lot. He played both ways in high school. He has great hands and great vision."

Patterson had an interception on day one of practice and, according to MacIntyre, seems like a natural fit given his prior experience.

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Along with Patterson, redshirt freshman Dylan Redmon will receive reps at tight end and still play wide receiver. 

"He's a walk-on that came in that's really athletic and has gained 20 pounds since he's gotten here, so I'm using him there," MacIntyre noted of Redmon.

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One returning player that didn't see action in 2023 was Lexington "Flex" Joseph. Joseph will begin spring practice with a yellow no-contact jersey, but expects that to change within the next few weeks.

"Flex has been coming to the winter workouts and then today he was out there," said MacIntyre. "He's not released to technically get hit yet, but he's doing all the full-speed cutting. So as spring goes along, he'll be able to get more physical, but he is right on track and a little bit ahead."

The plan with Joseph is to take it slow and make sure Flex is good to go for fall camp, further bolstering the running back room for 2024.

Other Notes:

* Quarterback Keyone Jenkins added muscle and gained about 12 pounds, going from 180 to about 192.

* Reggie Peterson (#0), Elijah Anderson-Taylor (#1), Eric Rivers (#3) and Brian Blades (#2) all changed their numbers from last season.