The road to the 2022 season for the FIU Panthers was supposed to start at 9 am on Tuesday. However, by 8:45 am, the sounds of players breaking out into position groups and coaches shouting instructions could be heard well beyond the fenced-off confines of the Panthers’ practice fields.
For a program that seemingly never got out of first gear in 2021, nobody could fault this year’s bunch for chomping at the bit for an early start in putting last year’s winless season behind them.
Mike MacIntyre’s first spring practice signified the start of a new era for FIU football and while all sights are set on getting the program’s first FBS win since November 23, 2019 — the Panthers’ head coach was focused on installing the fundamentals one day at a time.