Zack Waters is the backup quarterback at Florida International. He got roasted by his own college football coach.
It stems from a questionable post on Instagram.
Most college football players want to look as menacing as possible in their team photos. Waters went in a very different direction.
Who is Zachary Waters?
At 6-foot-0, 195 pounds, Zack Waters is a redshirt junior at Florida International University. As a native of Boca Raton, Florida, he completed more than 64% of his passes for 1,151 yards and 11 touchdowns at West Boca High School.
Waters committed to play for the Panthers in the recruiting Class of 2023. He was not listed on the major recruiting databases so I would imagine he joined the program as a walk-on. Doesn’t really matter. On the team is on the team!
Regardless of his standing with FIU, Waters did not see any game action during his first three years. However, he serves as the holder on special teams and he continues to drop dimes during practice.
The fourth-year signal-caller is also an academic weapon. Waters, a Sports and Recreation Management major, was named to the CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and received the CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medal in 2025-26. We love that.
Florida International’s strength and conditioning coach put his quarterback on blast.
With the 2026 college football season set to begin on Saturday, Florida International will play its first game at USF on Sept. 5. Zack Waters will likely serve as the third- or fourth-string quarterback.
He recently posted a series of photos from fall camp and media day. The post on Instagram is set to the song ‘Knock You Down’ by Keri Hilson, featuring Kanye West. The first photo shows Waters cradling a pink Stanley cup like a football.
Some of the photos go hard. His featured photo does not. Nor does the chorus of Knock You Down in this context.
Assistant strength and conditioning coach Sherrick Ervin called Waters out in the comment section:
“There’s no way you’re holding a pink Stanley and chose this song.”
He was and he did. Waters was holding a pink Stanley. Waters did choose that song.
I don’t know if there is more to the story here or if that is just how he rolls. Either way, his own strength coach put him on blast.