By Pete Pelegrin
Twitter: @Petepelegrin

Count FIU Coach Butch Davis among those ecstatic to see senior running back Alex Gardner return from a toe injury that sidelined him for all of spring practice.

Gardner said after Saturday's practice that he is 100 percent healthy but he was a little surprised when told of what former NFL running back he resembles in Davis's eyes.

"One of the real positives is getting Alex Gardner back," Davis said. "We were very cautious with him in the spring. Having him back out here now you see why he is electric. He has great vision. I told the people at media day in Dallas that he has a lot of the same vision and explosiveness that Clinton Portis had. They are about the same size but they don't play to that size. They play a lot bigger and a lot faster."

Portis, who played collegiately for Davis at Miami, had a very good career in the NFL with the Denver Broncos and Washington Redskins where he rushed for 9,923 career yards.

Like Portis, Gardner is not the big prototypical running back. Portis is listed at 5-11, 219 pounds. Gardner checks in at 5-10, 192 pounds.

"That was a great running back in the NFL," Gardner said of Portis. "I actually looked to him when I was a younger kid. I definitely play bigger than my size. Guys underestimate me because of my size so I have to go out there and play like I'm 6-3. That's what I try to do every game."

CRUISE MISSILE

Among some of the players that stood out during the offseason strength and conditioning program, Davis mentioned linebackers Fred Russ and Anthony Wint and former walk-on defensive back Bryce Canady, who earned a scholarship at the final FIU spring practice last April.

But it was offensive tackle James Cruise that drew some attention for his hops in the offseason. Cruise is listed at 6-5, 298 pounds, not exactly the size you would expect for someone that can jump. However, Cruise's offseason work in the weight room put him on the rise – literally.

"James Cruise, senior offensive tackle, I don't know for a fact that his vertical jump when he showed up here was 22, 23 inches," Davis said. "He vertically jumped 30 inches this summer. For a guy that is 315 pounds that's a massive amount of power to be able to move and jump that much. That was a huge accomplishment on his part."

Davis added that freshmen defensive linemen Noah Curtis and Kevin Oliver have put on more than 20 pounds of strength and mass.

One area Davis wants to address in camp is depth.

"Some of the biggest issues are depth in the offensive and defensive lines," Davis said. "Punters, placekickers, deep snappers and who kicks off. We may not get that solved until a week before the first game."