FIU Football: Scouting Liberty QB Kaidon Salter Ahead of Week 7

The Liberty Flames biggest threat on offense is quarterback Kaidon Salter

Kevin Barral | Oct 7, 2024

Dec 20, 2022; Boca Raton, Florida, USA; Liberty Flames quarterback Kaidon Salter (7) calls the snap against the Toledo Rockets during the second half in the 2022 Boca Raton Bowl at FAU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Storry-Imagn Images / Rich Storry-Imagn Images

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The 2-3 FIU Panthers continue their campaign this weekend against the defending CUSA champions Liberty Flames.

Flames' quarterback Kaidon Salter ended the 2023 season with 2,876 passing yards, 32 touchdowns against six interceptions, earning CUSA Most Valuable Player honors. On the ground is where Salter made his biggest impact, rushing for 1,186 yards and 12 touchdowns. Understandably, the expectations for his followup season were through the roof.

In 2024, it's been a weird start to the season for the junior quarterback. He's making most of his impact through the air, throwing for 949 yards and seven touchdowns through four games, but he isn't running the ball as much as he did last year, being limited to 123 rushing yards. Part of that is thanks to the running back combo of Quinton Cooley and Billy Lucas, both who ran for over 100 yards against FIU last year.

Nice effortless downfield ball by Kaidon Salter that travels around 50-air yards, showcasing quality accuracy. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/UCBY4NyvD3
— WBG84 (@WBG84) September 2, 2024

"He has a cannon, said FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre during his media availability on Thursday. "He can flick it 55-60 yards. He can throw from the far hash all the way to the sidelines on deep outs and with ease. The other thing is that he's really hard to bring down. He'll get pressured, he'll sidestep and just whip it out there. Time after time. He has gotten sacked some this year, but he's able to escape a lot of it."

Salter has led the Flames to having the second-best scoring offense in Conference USA (33.5 points per game), and the league's best total offense with 458.8 yards per game. Last season against FIU, Salter completed 11 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown. On the ground, he ran for 77 yards on nine attempts in a 38-6 win over the Panthers.

FIU has struggled to stop the run this season, so this could be a game where the Flames' quarterback can make a bigger impact in the ground game. FIU has had some success stopping the pass, allowing 222 yards per game through the air, ranking fifth in CUSA in that category this season.

Tuesday's matchup will mark the first between the Flames and FIU in Lynchburg since 2020. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM ET, streaming on CBS Sports Network.

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