FIU Athletics

Jelani Berassa is entering his second season on head coach Willie Simmons' staff.

In year one guiding the wide receiver room, Berassa was key in the development of First Team All-Conference selection Alex Perry, who finished the season with 840 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He also finished ninth in program history for most receiving yards in a single-tied…tied for the second-most receiving touchdowns in program history.

Berassa arrives at FIU after spending the last two seasons as the wide receivers coach at Youngstown State after playing for the Penguins from 2009-14.  During his tenure at Youngstown, the Penguins advanced to the NCAA FCS Playoffs for the first time in seven seasons.
 
In 2023, Youngstown State averaged a school-record 243.1 yards passing per game. The old mark was 235.8 set back in 1972.  YSU set school records for completions (270) and attempts (388) as well as percentage (69.6).  YSU's offense set a school record for 40-plus point games with six.  YSU also set a new school record by scoring 30-or-more points in six straight games.  The Penguins scored 28-plus points in all but two games.



Before returning to Youngstown State, Berassa spent five seasons at Florida A&M, under current FIU head coach Willie Simmons, serving in wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator capacities.
 
At FAMU, he was instrumental to the development of All-American wide receiver Xavier Smith throughout his tenure.  In Smith’s final season with the Rattlers, he was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award which recognizes the top offensive player at the FCS level.  During Smith's four seasons he caught 280 passes for 3,620 yards and 28 touchdowns.  On two occasions, Smith caught 11 touchdown passes in the same season.  In 2022, Smith had 87 catches for 1,021 yards and 11 TDs.
 
In 2022, Florida A&M finished the season with a 9-2 overall record closing out the year on a nine-game winning streak.
 
A native of Miami, Berassa began his coaching career at Delaware State, where he was wide receivers coach and camp director from 2014-17.  Berassa was a standout wide receiver at Miami Killian High School before joining the Penguins' program in the fall of 2009.

Berassa Timeline

2025-present	FIU	Wide Receivers
2023-24	Youngstown State	Wide Receivers
2018-22	Florida A&M	Wide Receivers/Passing Game Coordinator
2014-17	Delaware State	Wide Receivers