After a season opening win at Western Kentucky last weekend, the Flames look to continue the momentum with a win in their home opener against FIU.
The Panthers will be opening the season on Saturday, and have a lot of offseason questions that they will have to answer. Part of the uncertainty comes from the Panthers having a plethora of transfers coming in, many from big name schools. FIU has a total of 21 players on their roster that have at some point transferred into the program, nine of which transferred from power five programs. With many exciting new transfers, here are some new Panthers that could make a big impact on Saturday:
JJ Holloman R-JR/WR, (Georgia Transfer)
While Saturday will be the first time Holloman takes the field as a Panther, the Georgia transfer is very familiar with the FIU program. Having to sit out all of last season due to transfer rules, Holloman will be very familiar with the Panther offense. In his final season at Georgia in 2018, Holloman saw action in all 14 of the Bulldog’s games while making five starts. He had 24 total catches for 418 yards and 5 TDs. Two of his touchdowns that season went for over 60 yards, which speaks to his explosive big play ability.
D’Andre Christmas-Giles R-SR/DL (Texas Transfer)
Christmas-Giles joins three other DL transfers at FIU who originally attended a power 5 school. While the former Longhorn is the only new member out of the four transfers, he adds to their experienced unit. At Texas, Christmas-Giles played in 19 total games in his career with a majority of those appearances occurring his freshman year. As a freshman, he appeared in 9 games and totaled 5 tackles with a sack and a fumble recovery. After only making two game appearances as a sophomore, Christmas-Giles appeared in seven as a junior, but only made one solo tackle. After only one game appearance against Rice in 2019, Christmas-Giles decided to transfer. While his game action was limited at Texas, don’t be surprised if the 5th year senior has a career resurgence at FIU.
Tyson Maeva R-SR/LB (Boise State Transfer)
While Maeva may be the only transfer on this list that is not transferring from a power 5 program, he has the potential to be one of the Panthers’ best defenders. In three years at Group of 5 powerhouse Boise State, Maeva made appearances in at least 12 games every season. In his final year as a Bronco, Maeva was second on the team in tackles (61) and totaled 4 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss. Despite starting every game he appeared in for the Broncos in 2018, Maeva transferred to FIU and sat on the Panthers’ bench last season due to transfer rules.
Max Bortenschlager R-Sr/QB (Maryland Transfer)
After losing last year’s starting QB James Morgan to the NFL, the Panthers must find a replacement. While no official starter has been named, Max Bortenschlager appears to be the front runner. At Maryland, Bortenschlager made eight starts as a sophomore in relief of Tyrelle Pigrome (now WKU’s starter) and Kasim Hill. During those eight games Bortenschlager threw for 1,313 yards and 10 TDs. After suffering an injury while on special teams in 2018, Bortenschlager sat out the rest of that year and the entire 2019 campaign. If named the starter, it will be the second week in a row that Liberty will have faced a Maryland transfer QB.
Henry Gray Fr/DB (Nebraska Transfer)
Gray has not played a down of college football, but was still a nice addition to the Panther’s defense. Rated a four-star recruit by all recruiting outlets, the Hollywood, FL native is the highest rated recruit to commit to Florida International. He originally signed with Nebraska before transferring to FIU over the summer due to an “unexpected family situation.” While Gray is just a freshman, he adds depth to the Panther’s secondary and could potentially see action versus the Flames.
*Pictured: FIU WR James Holloman while playing for Georgia. Photo courtesy of AJC.
