A pair of secondary recruits, Tampa Freedom cornerback Nate Godwin and Delray Beach Atlantic safety Brisly Estime, claim offers from FIU.
Officially, the folks at Camp Mitch can't say anything about verbal commits. And usually kickers don't elicit many happy wiggles. But imagine you're a program still trying to gain national respect and you get a fourth member of the large school's all-county first team team in one of the nation's hottest recruiting areas. Even if it's a kicker, as is the case with Central's Emilio Nadelman, The Herald's 2011 6A-8A All-Dade First Team kicker.
You do the math.
PREDICTIONS
As noted in a previous post, Lindy's preseason magazine likes FIU to take the Sun Belt championship with them to Conference USA. Phil Steele's College Football Preview, perhaps the most exhaustively researched and statistically analytical preseason mag, agrees with Lindy's.
But Athlon's picks Arkansas State and FIU both to finish 7-1 in the Sun Belt with Arkansas State to get the title. USA Today brings the true pessimism, saying FIU will finish 5-3 in The Belt, 6-6 overall.
The common thread: the defense, statistically one of the nation's best last year, returns 10 starters and the schedule isn't exactly a trip through Dante's Inferno with the Arkansas State game at home.
