FIU Football’s Inaugural Practice at Charles Hadley Park Was a Success

Miami, FL – On Saturday, the FIU Panthers woke up bright and early to begin the first-ever practice at Charles Hadley Park in Liberty City, FL. “Well, we’re really excited about being able to come to Luther Campbell Field,” said FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre following the practice filled with a lot of intensity and emotions.

Here for some FIU Football action. #FIU #PawsUp pic.twitter.com/RzaxgrujFO

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 8, 2023

Most of today’s practice saw the guys going full contact and playing scrimmages. A lot of the attention was on how the quarterback room handled the offense and if they were able to get something going. Coach Mac said “We accomplished a lot of things. We did two-minute (drills), red zone (drills).” There were good plays and bad plays on both sides, which as a head coach you like seeing that.”

Keyone Jenkins doing the same drill. #FIU #PawsUp pic.twitter.com/fTxHCDwogL

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 8, 2023

As mentioned before, all eyes were on quarterbacks Grayson James and Haden Carlson who are the top two candidates for the starting quarterback job, but Keyone Jenkins and Amari Jones stood out in their own ways.

With Grayson, we were able to see how confident and comfortable he felt in the offense under offensive coordinator David Yost. When I asked coach Mac if Grayson is the most comfortable in the offense coach responded by saying, “I think, yeah, Grayson has made some good plays, but I’ll tell you all four quarterbacks have as you saw today, all four quarterbacks made plays.”

Grayson James and the rest of the quarterback room getting some work in. #FIU #PawsUp pic.twitter.com/zErccx1tWU

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 8, 2023

On the other hand, Haden Carlson showed his ability to extend plays and if need be, move the chains himself. “Hayden’s had some good plays and made some big plays and is doing a really good job.”

Finally, Miami Dade legend Keyone Jenkins struggled at the beginning throwing a pick, but later in the practice got a lot more comfortable and made some very smart passes, especially in the red zone drills.

On the receiving side, Ross Fournet logged a couple of receptions and took one to the house toward the end of practice. Most of his success came along with Haden Carlson as the QB.

One big injury that we saw today was running back Lexington “Flex” Joseph who when tackled seemed to have hurt his knee and was seen after practice in crutches. There was no update after practice, but if Flex does end up going down for an extended period of time, Kejon Owens, Shamari Owens, and Antonio Patterson will all be able to back him up and take the load.

After the practice, the players and coaches stayed for a little bit and hung out with the fans and participated in the Easter Egg drop that took place on the football field. “We definitely feel like Florida International University is kind of the engine that drives Miami,” said coach Mac when asked about coming out to events like the one that took place today and bringing the number of fans that they did.

Great day today at Charles Hadley Park covering the FIU Football team. #FIU #PawsUp pic.twitter.com/oba9dHS8xt

— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) April 8, 2023