Lions looking forward to their second first season
Friday night is a rebirth … or maybe a re-rebirth.
Florida Memorial University, which last year played its first football game since 1958, will hold its Spring Game on Friday at Traz Powell Stadium, starting at 7 p.m.
Last year, the Lions had about as tough of a return as possible. They had just two spring workouts — none of them in pads — before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of sports everywhere.
Then the season happened, and the Lions went 0-3 with the rest of their 10-game schedule canceled because of COVID.
The Lions were outscored 160-13 in those three games, scoring on a blocked punt and a touchdown pass.
But Lions second-year coach Tim “Ice” Harris is stepping on the gas, trying to put 2020 in his proverbial rear-view window as quickly as possible.
“We feel like 2021 is our real first year,” said Harris, who was part of the coaching staff of a Power Five Conference school, the Miami Hurricanes,
before coming to FMU and the NAIA level. “In our minds, this is our first official year.”
While looking forward is the plan for Harris, he still must deal with the repercussions of 2020. FMU for example has had its roster shrunk from 105 to 70 as some players are reluctant to return to football.
Harris, though, said reinforcements are coming.
“We should have between 125 to 150 players by the fall,” he said. “We’re looking to add a JV team.”
The Lions also have yet to replace three assistant coaches who recently departed for other colleges: offensive coordinator Benedict Hyppolite (Hurricanes); linebackers coach Sabbath Joseph (Florida State); and tight ends coach/special teams coordinator Nick Oyarzun (Maryville).
Harris said he expects to play 10 games this fall, including five at Traz Powell.
So far this spring, Lions standouts include running back George Young; offensive linemen Jeremiah Jenkins and Carlos Boothe; defensive linemen Anthony Harris and Philman Roundtree; and defensive backs Terry Smith and Darius Conley.
The quarterback position is a three-way battle between Antoine Williams,
Jordan Elliot and Demarcus McEachern.
“Williams is in the lead,” Harris said. “But all three are competing.”
Harris said FMU’s ultimate goal is to take the program to the NCAA 1-AA level so that the Lions can compete against other Historically Black Colleges and Universities, such as Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman.
In the meantime, the Lions are hoping for improvement from last year.
“We want to redeem ourselves,” Harris said. “Last year was tough on our staff and players. We got put in a bad position.
“About 98 percent of our players last year were true freshmen. We missed spring, and we only had two weeks in the fall to get ready for the season. We didn’t get the reps we needed.”
Anthony Harris, the defensive lineman who is of no relation to the coach, is excited for Friday’s Blue and White spring game.
“We expect to show how polished we are getting,” Anthony Harris said, “and this is only the beginning. This is just a sneak peak of what’s to come.
“Last year was a big adjustment, and there are no excuses. But it won’t be the same this time around. What happened last year — I don’t think you will see that ever again at Florida Memorial.”