WKU Football: FIU Q&A With Underdog Dynasty’s Eric Henry

UDD’s Eric Henry is back to answer all of our questions on FIU entering this weekend

Sep 22, 2022

We may be sad about the Tops losing a close game at IU this past weekend but now WKU set their eyes on their first Conference USA opponent of the season: Florida International.

To help us learn more about FIU, we got our friend at Underdog Dynasty Eric Henry, Underdog site manager and FIU beat writer, to answer all of our questions looking toward this matchup. Be sure you check out Underdog Dynasty’s website and Twitter along with Eric’s personal Twitter account.

Let’s see what kind of intel he has.

The Towel Rack: Last season, FIU only managed to go 1-11 overall. Do you see things improving for the Golden Panthers this season?

Eric Henry: The Panthers went 1-11 last season for a litany of reasons. Most notably, the lack of players towards the end of the season. In the season finale at Southern Miss, FIU was down 33 players due to injury or players leaving the program. Of the 110 players on this year’s roster, only 23 are upperclassmen and 14 of those have never been full-time starters at the FBS level. So to answer your question, it depends on your definition of improvement. There may be an additional victory or two and that’s better than one, but even if there isn’t, getting through this season with a full roster and something to build off of that is an improvement, given how depleted this roster was at the end of last season and even before spring practice.

TTR: Who are the biggest playmakers on both sides of the ball for FIU that the Hilltoppers need to be prepared for?

EH: On offense, it’s undoubtedly wideout Tyrese Chambers. The FCS transfer broke T.Y. Hilton’s records for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in a single season last year – jumping onto NFL scouts’ radars entering this season as a result. Through two games, he’s faced various double and even triple-coverages. Keep an eye on the tight end spot as well. Iowa transfer Josiah Miamen has led the way, but starter Rivaldo Fairweather is one of the most athletically gifted tight ends among the Group of Five ranks.

Defensively, nose guard Davon Strickland is among the top defensive linemen in Conference USA and linebackers Donovan Manuel and Gaethan Bernadel are tackling machines.

TTR: How do you see the FIU defense matching up against Austin Reed and the Hilltoppers offense?

EH: This is an extremely young group that’s in its first season playing in a 3-4 defense, a staple of Mike MacIntyre’s. As a result, it’s been a seesaw start to the season. They’ve managed to get pressure (five sacks through two games – compared to 15 all of last season) but that pressure hasn’t been consistent and in prime moments. In the secondary, keep an eye on true freshman Hezekiah Masses. He’s a player who the coaches are extremely high on, as indicative of him earning a starting role in his first year, but as would be expected with such a young player, he’s had his ups and downs – giving up two long touchdowns against Texas State two weeks ago. I don’t see the defense being able to slow Western’s offense.

TTR: What do you think would have to happen for FIU to walk out of this game with a big conference win?

EH: This team would have to grow up in a hurry and that’s obviously just not reasonable to expect in three weeks of play. Outside of natural maturation, the offensive line has to perform better. Which again, they’re playing a true freshman and two first-time starters, in addition to battling injuries. The running game (which of course is a byproduct of the play up-front) has been abysmal – averaging just 2.6 yards per carry between the two primary backs. That has to change.

TTR: WKU won this game 34-19 last season. How do you see this weekend’s game going?

EH: Ideally, FIU is able to start much faster than they have in their first two games. If they can, they have enough offensive weapons to be able to score points – but not nearly enough as the Hilltoppers. By the third quarter, I’m expecting the Western offense to turn on the jets and pull away.

Final Score: Western Kentucky 49, FIU 17

We’d like to thank Eric once again for taking the time to answer our questions! Be sure to go check out all of his work at Underdog Dynasty, one of the premier G5/FCS football sites on the whole web as well as his Twitter for an FIU perspective of the game.