G5 Football Daily

FIU Football: Mike MacIntyre's Assessment Ten Days Into Fall Camp

Ten days into fall camp, head coach Mike MacIntyre offered his insight into some aspects of the growth of his team

Kevin Barral

FIU Athletics
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MIAMI, FL - The FIU Panthers kicked off week three of fall camp on Monday. Unlike recent weeks, tensions were high, but they only motivated the players on the field to keep going and make big plays. On Monday, momentum shifted. Just when the defense was edging out the offense, they took over, primarily in redzone drills and took the win on day ten of fall camp.

"We're working hard and this is the time when everybody's sore and they gotta keep pushing and gotta keep going," said MacIntyre. "We accomplished a lot today. We had our scrimmage Saturday, we did a full scrimmage, full tackling, getting after it. We're in so much better shape and so much more physical. Nobody got hurt. Sometimes there's freakish accidents, but now that we're stronger, more physical, you're able to endure some of that stuff a lot better."

A big emphasis on day ten were the redzone drills, where the offense seemingly took over, primarily 6'5" wideout Desna Washington.

"We've got quite a few guys that can catch it in the red zone and go get it," said MacIntyre. "Dean's [Patterson] a big guy and and hit Rocky [Beers] and Josiah [Miamen] and so it's good we got good tough runners so we can utilize all of our weapons down there."

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A name who has impressed throughout all of camp is 5'6" redshirt freshman Shaborne Demps. Last season, Demps didn't see the field, but has made an impact primarily after the catch with his speed and ability to move well.

"If you're a little you better be super fast, right?" said MacIntyre. "He is super fast and has the ability to run after the catch. He's he's built like a little tank, so it's not like he's a little slight guy, he's just short, but big everywhere else and powerful. He's doing some good things after he catches the ball for sure."

Coming out of high school, Demps received offers from Purdue, Indiana, Mississipi State and Pitt, but decided to stay in Florida and come to FIU. He was originally a wide receiver, but had been taking reps at running back and playing both positions, making him versatile.

With Keyone Jenkins set as the starter, the battle for the backup quarterback job has been an interesting one. Junior Chayden Peery has been taking a lot of second team reps after not playing last season, but redshirt junior Haden Carlson isn't too far behind.

"Chayden has done some good things," said MacIntyre. "I thought Amari has done well and Haden and all those guys are all kind of rotating in there and they've all had a good day and a bad day. They just gotta keep pushing."

A name that has flown under the radar in the quarterback room is freshman Clayton Dees who has been taking plenty of reps and began to feel a lot more comfortable.

"Clayton's what I call a quick twitch thinker," said MacIntyre. "I learned that from David Cutcliffe and he can see stuff and relate it from the meeting room to the practice real well. Now, it's just the process of getting the ball there speeding up the throw, that type of thing. He's very athletic and his future is going to be bright. He's just got to keep working."

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Kevin Barral
KEVIN BARRAL

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