FIU releases depth chart with an elated Gunnar Holmberg as its starting quarterback
Gunnar Holmberg contacted his mother, Jennifer, and his sister, Torianne, on Monday morning, sending a two-word group text:
“Let’s Ride!”
That was Holmberg’s euphoric way of letting his family know that he had just been named FIU’s starting quarterback, beating out Grayson James and Haden Carlson.
Jennifer, a third-grade teacher at Lakewood Elementary in Durham, North Carolina, had to stifle a scream because she was still at school.
Torianne, who at 25 is two years old than her brother, shot back an excited text with several added “o’s” for emphasis:
“Let’s gooooooo!”
Jennifer, who lost her husband Sean – Gunnar and Torianne’s father – to brain cancer on Nov. 10, 2009 -- said she will have quite a few members of her family at FIU Stadium on Thursday night for the Panthers’ season opener against Bryant.
“I’m super excited,” Jennifer said. “I want FIU to come out strong, and I think having Gunnar there is the way to go.”
FIU coach Mike MacIntyre agreed, saying he and his assistant coaches felt “Gunnar was better for us at this time.”
Holmberg, who is related to Hall of Fame quarterback/kicker George Blanda, is the only QB on the FIU roster with starting experience. He went 3-8 last year as Duke’s starter.
Despite that losing record with an often-overmatched Duke squad, Holmberg, a 6-3, 205-pounder, got off to an impressive 3-3 start, completing 72.5 percent of his passes in his first six games. During that span, he also averaged 269 passing yards per game, with six TD tosses and four interceptions.
Armed with that experience, Holmberg beat out James, who is now on the second team, and Carlson.
“I’ve been very impressed with (all three) quarterbacks during fall camp,” MacIntyre said. “They’ve made excellent strides since the spring. It’s been a great competition.
“If one of the quarterbacks went down, I would feel confident the next guy could step up and get the job done. I wasn’t sure about that at the end of the spring. But I’m sure about that now at the end of the fall.
“Grayson and Haden are very talented guys. We’re excited about their futures.”
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Elsewhere on the first depth chart of the MacIntyre Era – which was released on Monday – the coach said that perhaps the toughest position to decide was running back, where he is listing EJ Wilson and Lexington Joseph as co-starters.
Tight end, with Rivaldo Fairweather as the starter, was an obvious choice. Iowa transfer Josiah Miamen is the backup.
At wide receiver, FIU star Tyrese Chambers is joined by former walk-on Dean Patterson and junior-college transfer Jalen Bracey as starters. Patterson has just three catches in two years at FIU, but he has been impressive since spring.
The backups are Kris Mitchell, Randall St. Felix and newcomer Ross Fournet, who has zero collegiate catches.
FIU’s offensive line includes left tackle Shamar Hobdy-Lee, left guard John Bock, center Julius Pierce, right guard Rey Burnett and right tackle Jacob Peace. For now, Lyndell Hudson is listed as a backup tackle, but MacIntyre said that was largely due to him coming back from injuries.
On the defensive line, Davon Strickland (nose tackle) and Jeramy Passmore (end) are returning starters. Keegan Davis, with just one game of college experience, won the other end job. True freshman Steve Shannon, son of former Miami Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon, leads the second unit along with junior-college transfer Will Prendergast and Jordan Guerad.
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Veteran East Tennessee State transfer Donovan Manuel leads the linebacker unit. He plays inside along with ex-Hallandale High star Gaethan Bernadel. Former running back Shaun Peterson has made a terrific adjustment to outside linebacker. North Carolina transfer Alex Nobles is the other outside linebacker, with Syracuse transfer DJ Kinsler in support.
Former Nebraska cornerback Henry Gray, slowed by a back injury earlier this fall, has won a job in the secondary. Hezekiah Masses, a true freshman from Deerfield Beach, won the other corner job.
The starting safeties are Demetrious Hill and CJ Christian. Dorian Hall, back after being diagnosed with epilepsy, is on the second team with D’verik Daniel. The nickel back is Jamal Potts, with Joe Perkins in support.
Chase Gabriel is the kicker, but Australian Jordan Doelling is listed as a backup to punter Dalton Montiel, formerly of Cardinal Gibbons and Marshall University. Other special-teamers include long-snapper Jackson Lee and kickoff specialist Lucas Matias. Montiel is also the holder.
