MIAMI – FIU Football has added six transfers to the roster for the 2023 season, including four student-athletes who played in South Florida during their high school career.
 
Included in the local new additions are Claude Larkins (DL/North Carolina State) who competed at Hollywood's Chaminade Madonna, Shomari Lawrence (RB/South Dakota) a former player at Pompano Beach's Blanche Ely High School, Avery Huff (LB/Miami) a graduate of Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas and JoJo Evans (DB/Kent State) who prepped at Palm Beach Gardens High School.
 
Rounded out the group is Ja'Coby Matthews (WR/SW Mississippi) and Elijah Anderson-Taylor (LB/Northern Colorado).
 
Additional biographical information and video highlights are below.
 
2023 TRANSFER SIGNEES
 
Claude Larkins
DL – 6-4 – 270
Hollywood, Fla. (North Carolina State/Chaminade Madonna)
 
CLICK FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
 
2022 (at NC State): Saw action in one contest…recorded one tackle vs. Charleston Southern (9/10).
 
2021 (at NC State): Saw action in two contests, including a high of 15 snaps in the win over USF…also in for a snap vs. Furman…tallied two tackles in season opener vs. South Florida (9/2).
 
Prep: Played on the defensive line at Chaminade-Madonna High School for coach Dameon Jones…appeared in six games as a senior due to injury…finished with 26 tackles, four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks…helped lead Chaminade-Madonna to the Class 3A state title for the third straight year, posting a 12-2 record…ranked the No. 62 weakside defensive end nationally by 247sports.com.
 
Shomari Lawrence
RB – 6-0 – 200
Pompano Beach, Fla. (South Dakota/Ely HS)
 
CLICK FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
 
2022 (at South Dakota): Appeared in 11 games…totaled 597 rushing yards on 107 carries and three touchdowns…averaged 5.6 yards per carry…posted a season-long run of 52 yards vs. Southern Illinois (10/22)…tabbed a total of 122 yards and a touchdown vs. Southern Illinois (10/22)…opened the season with 84 yards on 14 carries at Kansas State (9/3)…snagged three passes for 56 yards and a touchdown vs. Cal Poly (9/17)…tabbed 75 yards and a score at Illinois State (10/15)…notched 95 yards against Northern Iowa (11/19).
 
2021 (at South Dakota): Coyotes' fourth-leading rusher despite playing just three-plus games before sustaining a season-ending injury…utilized a redshirt season…carried 29 times for 147 yards (5.1 ypc) in those first three games with one touchdown…totaled 33 totes for 160 yards…also caught six passes for 77 yards…had a 29-yard touchdown run in the season opener at Kansas that was the Coyotes' first touchdown of the season and the first of his collegiate career (9/3).
 
2020 (at South Dakota): Season was reduced to four games in the spring due to COVID-19 ...was one of 10 true freshmen who competed for the Coyotes…made his collegiate debut at home in game three against Missouri State (3/13)…earned his first carries in game four at Youngstown State where he ran twice for nine yards (3/20)…was not charged a year of eligibility due to NCAA rules related to the pandemic...MVFC Honor Roll member
 
Prep: Two-sport star at Blanche Ely HS in Pompano Beach, Fla., who helped lead the Tigers to a 7-4 record on the gridiron as a senior in 2019...earned first-team all-Broward County honors after totaling 1,206 all-purpose yards including 1,004 rushing and totaled 14 touchdowns...was the Otis Gray Award winner for overall outstanding play at the 2019 BCAA All-Star Football Classic...also competed in track and field for the Tigers
 
Ja'Coby Matthews
WR – 5-11 – 170
McComb, Miss. (SW Mississippi CC/North Pike HS)
 
CLICK FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
 
2022 (at SW Mississippi): Opened the season with three receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown vs. Mississippi Delta (9/1)…recorded six catches for 80 yards vs. Coahoma (9/8)…registered 60 yards and a touchdown on five catches and a touchdown at Mississippi Gulf Coast (9/15)…led team with 77 yards on three catches, including a touchdown vs. Copiah Lincoln (9/22)…
 
2021 (at SW Mississippi): Played in seven games for the Bears totaling 11 catches for 222 yards and two scores.
 
Personal: Parent is Jessica Matthews…has two siblings…nickname is Coby…favorite athlete is Stefon Diggs…favorite food is steak.
 
Avery Huff
LB – 6-2 – 205
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Miami/St. Thomas Aquinas)
 
CLICK FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
 
2022 (at Miami): Saw action in six games…appeared in contests vs. Bethune Cookman (9/3), at Texas A&M (9/17), vs. Middle Tennessee (9/24), vs. North Carolina (10/8), at Virginia Tech (10/15) and vs. Duke (10/22).
 
2021 (at Miami): Saw action in 11 games, largely on special teams…totaled three tackles over course of season…played in season opener against Alabama (Sept. 4)…saw time in win over Appalachian State (Sept. 11)…played against Michigan State (Sept. 18)…posted one tackle in win over Central Connecticut State (Sept. 25)…saw time against Virginia (Sept. 30)…Competed against NC State (Oct. 23)…finished with one tackle in win over Pittsburgh (Oct. 30)…saw time in win over Georgia Tech (Nov. 6)…played at Florida State (Nov. 13)…saw snaps against Virginia Tech (Nov. 20)…finished with one tackle in win over Duke (Nov. 27) in regular season finale.
 
2020 (at Miami): Saw action in nine games in debut season, largely on special teams…finished with five tackles…made career debut in season opener against UAB (Sept. 10)…Had first tackle of career in road win at top-20 Louisville (Sept. 19)…finished with one tackle in romp of rival Florida State (Sept. 26)…Ssaw action at top-ranked Clemson (Oct. 10)…had one tackle in win over Pittsburgh (Oct. 17)…played in victory over Virginia (Oct. 24)…Competed in come-from-behind win at NC State (Nov. 6)…saw action in road win at Virginia Tech (Nov. 14)…had two tackles in regular season finale against North Carolina (Dec. 12)…played in 2020 Cheez-It Bowl against Oklahoma State (Dec. 29).
 
2019 (at Miami): Did not see any game action, redshirted to retain eligibility.
 
Prep: Consensus four-star prospect by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com…Rated No. 8 inside linebacker and the No. 19 player in Florida by Rivals.com…rated No. 171 player in Rivals Top250…ranked as 12th outside linebacker and 32nd player in Florida by 247Sports.com…listed as No. 27 outside linebacker by ESPN.com…tallied 38 total tackles (24 solo), 8.0 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble in senior season…helped lead St. Thomas Aquinas to FHSAA Class 7A state championship game.
 
Elijah Anderson-Taylor
LB – 6-0 – 238
Centennial, Colo. (Northern Colorado/Eagle Crest HS)
 
CLICK FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
 
2022 (at Northern Colorado): Played and started all 11 games…racked up team-best 111 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss…forced five fumbles and recovered three…tabbed four QB hurries…blocked one kick…registered double-figure stops in a total of seven games…rang up 12 stops at Wyoming (9/10)…added a season-high 14 tackles at Lamar (9/17)…posted 13 tackles vs. Idaho State (9/24)…added 10 stops at Idaho (10/1)…recorded 13 tackles along with a forced fumble and recovery at Sacramento State (10/8)…closed out season with 12 tackles vs. Northern Arizona (11/12) and 13 at Eastern Washington (11/19).
 
2021 (at Northern Colorado): Played in 10 games including making first career start against Montana State…posted 17 tackles, 10 of them solo… had a career-high six tackles against Eastern Washington…recorded three tackles for a loss on the year…made the game clinching tackle against Northern Arizona in overtime.
 
2019 (at Northern Colorado): Redshirt season.
 
Prep: Played both football and basketball for Eaglecrest, lettering all four years in football and twice in basketball…played both linebacker and running back in high school…first team All-State selection senior season, second team All-League junior year, All-State honorable mention freshman season…helped Eaglecrest to state runner-up finish junior season and league title junior year.
 
JoJo Evans
DB – 6-2 – 196
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (Kent State/Marshall/Palm Beach Gardens HS)
 
CLICK FOR VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
 
2022 (at Kent State): Compiled 83 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss while starting all 11 games for Kent State….started season opener at Washington and tied for team lead with 7 total tackles (all solo), had a forced fumble and a pass break-up…posted six stops at No. 7 Oklahoma…tabbed five tackles vs. Long Island…led squad with 10 tackles at No. 1 Georgia…added six stops at Miami…recorded nine tackles at Toledo…in victory over Akron, had five total tackles including a shared sack as well as an interception…recorded 8 total tackles including a tackle for loss vs. Ball State…made 10 tackles vs. Eastern Michigan…tied for team-lead with 11 stops at Buffalo.
 
2021 (at Marshall): Appeared in 13 games for the Thundering Herd…compiled 21 tackles, including a season-high five vs. N.C. Central.
 
2020 (at Marshall): Appeared in four games for the Thundering Herd…tabbed a pair of tackles vs. UMass.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers' focus is currently on the second national signing period - which is scheduled for Feb. 1, 2023.
 
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2023 FIU FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 26	at Louisiana Tech* (Saturday)
Sept. 2	MAINE (Saturday)
Sept. 9	NORTH TEXAS (Saturday)
Sept. 16	at Connecticut (Saturday)
Sept. 28	LIBERTY* (Thursday)
Oct. 5	at New Mexico State* (Thursday)
Oct. 11	UTEP* (Wednesday)
Oct. 18	at Sam Houston State* (Wednesday)
Oct. 25	JACKSONVILLE STATE* (Wednesday)
Nov. 11	at Middle Tennessee* (Saturday)
Nov. 18	at Arkansas (Saturday)
Nov. 25	WESTERN KENTUCKY* (Saturday)

 
HOME GAMES IN BOLD CAPS
* CONFERENCE USA GAME
 
Please note that all games are subject to date changes and some dates may move in the future in order to accommodate national television selections.  A schedule of televised games will be released at a later date.