CLEVELAND, Ohio (Oct. 17, 2014) – Phil Steele Publications has released its Midseason All-Conference USA and All-America Teams on Friday and three members of the FIU football team have been recognized.
Redshirt junior
Richard Leonard was named Third-Team All-American (defense) and First-Team All-C-USA (defensive back), while junior
Michael Wakefield earned First-Team all-conference (defensive lineman) and sophomore
Jonnu Smith garnered Second-Team All-C-USA (tight end) accolades.
Leonard, a three-time C-USA Player of the Week, leads the team with four interceptions and ranks No. 14 nationally in interceptions-per-game (0.60). The Miami native also leads the team in passes defended (6) and ranks No. 16 nationally in passes defended-per-game (1.4). Leonard recorded a school-record 100-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown versus Florida Atlantic (Oct. 2), becoming the fourth player in NCAA history (since 1992) to accomplish that feat.
Wakefield leads the team with 5.5 sacks. The Valdosta, Ga., native is tied for No. 34 in the nation in sacks-per-game (0.79) and has tallied a team-best 9.0 tackles for loss. Wakefield has been a two-time College Football Performance Awards Defensive Lineman Performer of the Week and has been a huge factor in FIU's nation-leading 24 turnovers forced.
Smith, who is on the John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List, leads the Panthers with 34 catches for 411 yards and four touchdowns this season. Smith is second in Conference USA in total receiving yards (No. 68 nationally). His four receiving touchdowns lead the conference and rank No. 46 in the nation. Smith has caught at least one pass in 19-straight games, averaging 4.9 catches-per-game.
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FIU hosts the Marshall Thundering Herd on Saturday, Oct. 18. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. ET from Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium and will be broadcast live on the American Sports Network.
The game will be broadcast live on 1210AM with Mike Levine (play-by-play) and
Pete Pelegrin (color analyst) calling all of the action. FIU's remaining three home games features C-USA opponents Marshall (Oct. 8), Rice (Nov. 1) and Middle Tennessee (Nov. 15).
For FIU football ticket information, log onto
www.FIUSports.com or contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263).
For the latest information on Panthers football, follow us on Twitter, @FIUFootball, and check out
Pete Pelegrin's in-depth coverage of FIU Athletics on his official blog, The Prowl, at
www.FIUSports.com.
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
