Owens Earns Offensive POTY, 11 Panthers Earn All-CUSA Spots

A remarkable season for FIU Football continues as Conference USA announced its end-of-season All-Conference Awards. The Panthers cashed in, with 11 unique players making the list.

They had the most members on the first and second teams, but the most noteworthy accolade was running back Kejon Owens earning the CUSA Offensive Player Of The Year.

The full list of Panthers is below:

CUSA All Second-Team – OL Julius Pierce, OL Jaheim Buchanon, DL Keegan Davis, DL Kenton Simmons, and DB Jessiah McGrew

CUSA All Honorable mention – DB Shamir Sterlin and DB Brian Blades II

CUSA All-Freshman Team – DB Shamir Sterlin and DB Jessiah McGrew

CUSA First Team

Owens, FIU’s senior running back, is the first player in program history to earn the Offensive Player Of The Year award in Conference USA. If that wasn’t enough, he also doubled up with a First Team spot.

How did he get here? He finished the regular season with 1,298 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 205 carries. Stat-wise, he’s one of the top backs in all of FBS, let alone the conference.

You would NOT be crazy to think that Perry had what it took to be a star receiver for FIU after the first three weeks of the season. In a receiver-by-committee system, he jumped out early and secured a WR1 spot with his reliability. The Hawai’i transfer recorded 53 receptions for 816 yards and nine touchdowns.

Over on defense, Chaney was one of just five CUSA linebackers to total 100 total tackles this season. Conveniently, he had exactly 100 alongside 6.5 tackles for a loss, a pair of sacks, and two forced fumbles.

What Clark has done for the Panthers’ defense this season cannot be overstated. His three interceptions were some of the most critical for FIU this season, including one to close out the second half against Florida Atlantic, which shifted momentum to the Panthers for the second half. He also recorded a pick and tipped another against WKU in a marquee win for FIU.

CUSA Second Team, Honorable Mentions, and All Freshman

Pierce and Buchanon were critical parts of the offensive line. In addition to FIU being the fourth-fewest sacked team in CUSA, the o-line was a big contributor to the Panthers’ rushing offense this season.

Davis and Simmons were the dynamic duo of edge rushers for the Panthers. Davis dropped 28 total tackles, while Simmons recorded 23 total tackles, with eight being for a loss. McGrew posted 68 total tackles and four interceptions.

FIU’s secondary dominated both the Honorable Mention and Freshman Teams. Sterlin posted 60 total tackles and two interceptions, while Blades II posted 26 total tackles and an interception.

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Jake Gibson

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