Eddie Walls, Josiah Taylor hoping to crack FIU football team’s linebacker rotation

When FIU’s football team gathers for spring drills in March, one of the biggest missions will be to find a workable rotation at linebacker.

Middle linebacker Donovan Manuel is out of eligibility after two brilliant seasons at FIU. In 2023, he set a single-season Panthers record with five forced fumbles. His 121 tackles last year are the second-most for a season in program history, and his 15.5 tackles for losses rank fifth.

In FIU’s defense (essentially a 4-2-5), there’s a chance that Reggie Peterson can move from his outside linebacker spot to replace Manuel in the middle. Peterson last season ranked second on FIU with 104 tackles.

If that happens, then there’s a void at outside linebacker. Two newcomers – transfer Eddie Walls III and freshman Josiah Taylor -- are among the candidates to at least be in the linebacker rotation. Walls is an outside linebacker with two years of eligibility remaining. Taylor, a middle linebacker who can also play outside, has four playing seasons still available.

Both are already on campus, and Walls, particularly, has come a long way.

He was a 6-3, 195-pounder when he played his final high school season at South Fort Myers in 2019. He then spent one semester at a prep school, missed his freshman season at Bethune-Cookman and played the next two years for the Wildcats.

Now 21, Walls has reported to FIU at 6-foot-4 and 247 pounds – a massive difference between now and the player he was in high school.

Those that know Walls the best, say there’s still potential for improvement.

“Eddie has the frame and the body to play a few years in the NFL, even if he’s not drafted,” South Fort Myers defensive coordinator Matt Holdenfield said. “He’s quick, physical and a hard worker.

“He’s also very driven. You won’t find a better kid than Eddie.”

Walls, a Physical Education major who is set to graduate in the spring of 2025, had 14½ tackles for losses and four sacks last season for Bethune-Cookman.

“A lot of people would be happy with those numbers,” Walls said. “I’m not. I have high standards.

“I’m a consistent, high-motor player – very competitive.”

By transferring from Bethune-Cookman’s Daytona Beach campus to FIU, Walls has cut his travel time home to Fort Myers in half, from four hours to two.

Taylor, whose home in Sebring is about 2½ hours from FIU’s campus, recorded 406 tackles in four years at Sebring, breaking the previous record set by LaVaar Scott, his head coach.

Scott went on to play defensive end for the Miami Hurricanes, backing up three players who got drafted: Jerome McDougle, Jamaal Green and Andrew Williams.

“I was part of the rotation on the greatest team that ever was,” said Scott, referring to the 2001 Hurricanes team that went 12-0 and beat Nebraska in the national championship game held at the Rose Bowl.

Scott, now 45 and the dean of students as well as head coach at Sebring, has mentored Taylor, who made 48 starts in his prep career.

“Josiah is a tackle machine,” Scott said. “He can rush the passer and also drop back into coverage. He is a leader. He gets everybody lined up correctly.”

Scott said Taylor typically takes his first step forward in an effort to stop the run. But Taylor is agile enough, Scott said, to adjust back as needed.

Taylor committed to South Florida in June. But when the Bulls pulled their scholarship offer, Taylor committed to FIU on Dec. 12 and signed with the Panthers a week later.

FIU defensive coordinator Jovan Dewitt was the main recruiter for Taylor, a powerfully-built 6-0 215-pounder who can bench press 340.

Taylor, who also set Sebring’s single-season record with 154 tackles in 2022, said Dewitt and the rest of FIU’s staff did a great job recruiting him.

“(Dewitt) is a straight-up guy who will tell you what you need to improve,” said Taylor, who plans to study Business Finance. “(Coach Mike MacIntyre) sat me down, and we had a nice talk. They made me feel at home.”

Taylor, who wants to improve his blitz moves, describes his on-field skills as “fast, physical, strong, smart, instinctive and violent.”

Sebring went 34-11 during Taylor’s four years, making him part of the winningest class in program history.

Taylor would love to be a part of that type of success with the Panthers, who are coming off two straight 4-8 seasons under MacIntyre.

But before Taylor can contribute at FIU, he will need to make some adjustment, according to Scott.

“He needs to learn the playbook and adjust to the speed of college football,” Scott said. “He also has to learn the regimen – college classes, weight-lifting, film study, meetings, practices.

“But once he gets acclimated, he can be for FIU what he was for us – the cornerstone of our defense.”