FIU Football: Pleasant Surprises in 2023

Although the FIU Panthers finished with a 4-8 record in 2023, there were definitely positives to take away. For instance, players who maybe weren't heard of enough throughout last off-season ended up surprising the casual fan. Here were a few of those pleasant surprises from the 2023 squad.

Brian Blades

After only playing in seven games in 2021 and 2022, cornerback Brian Blades played in 11 games this past season, making his presence was felt.

Blades ended the season with 36 total tackles and finished within the top 20 in passes defended in CUSA.

The Panthers' now redshirt junior was mainly matched up against an opposing team's top target, or number-two receiver.

At the moment, both Blades and Hezekiah Masses are still with the team, so that cornerback duo should be one of the better ones in Conference USA with another full year of experience gained.

Steven Shannon

When defensive lineman Jeramy Passmore went down with a concussion, the Panthers shifted to Steven Shannon, who had played mainly on special teams. He ended the season with 14 total tackles, seven solo tackles and seven assisted tackles.

Shannon ended the season on the All-Conference USA Freshman team along with quarterback Keyone Jenkins and linebacker Toddrick Brewton.

With Jack Daly declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft and Jordan Guerad entering the transfer portal, that opens some spots for Shannon to grow into.

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Naeer Jackson

When the season started, nobody thought that out of the five starting offensive lineman, only one would still be starting in the final week of the season due to injuries and other reasons.

Naeer Jackson ended up starting all 12 games of the season at left guard and was never injured. The now redshirt sophomore will most likely start again at left guard in 2024.

Kejon Owens

When Week Zero came up, running back Kejon Owens was third on the depth chart, behind Shomari Lawrence and Antonio Patterson. Following a 101-yard, three-touchdown game, the Miami Central product ended up splitting reps with Lawrence.

Owens went on to finish the season with 453 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Late into the season, Owens was also used as a wildcat quarterback.

Rocky Beers

After Josiah Miamen went down with an injury for a week, the Panthers went to tight ends Jackson McDonald and Rocky Beers, but Beers saw the majority of the playing time.

Coming out of Air Force, he joined the Panthers with his brother Rowdy Beers. In 2023, Beers hauled in 18 receptions for 158 yards and one touchdown. With Miamen back to full health, expect this tight end room to be a revolving door, with Rocky Beers seeing a lot of action.