All eyes are on Florida A&M football.
Some look for the Rattlers to maintain its Black College Football National Championship standard as they achieved in 2023.
At the same time, others view the Rattlers as inferior to last year’s team that claimed the program’s first Southwestern Athletic Conference and Celebration Bowl trophies last December.
The assumption of a championship hangover follows an eventful offseason, including FAMU hiring James Colzie III as its new head football coach.
Colzie replaced 2023 SWAC Coach of the Year Willie Simmons, who left the Rattlers in January to become the Duke Blue Devils’ running backs coach after six years.
FAMU also lost many key players, such as the SWAC’s 2023 Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Jeremy Moussa and 2023 SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Isaiah Major, to graduation and other key players to the NCAA Transfer Portal.
For example, at Tuesday’s SWAC Football Media Day, the league released its divisional predicted order of finish.
The SWAC selected FAMU to place second in the SWAC East, garnering 104 points and six first-place votes. The Rattlers trail the Alabama State Hornets, who got 114 points and 11 first-place votes.
FAMU and Alabama State meet in Montgomery on Oct. 5 for the Hornets’ homecoming football game.
“You fall into that list of possibly being complacent. That happens with every championship team. Then you look at the people we lost,” Colzie said during his SWAC Media Day online Zoom session on Tuesday.
“But I know we have about 88 to 90 guys in Tallahassee, and they all understand that we’re going to get the best from every team we play. And we don’t want to get surprised by any team we will line up against.
“It will be extremely important for our staff to ensure we have them ready to go.”
FAMU opens its 2024 football season in Week 0 versus Norfolk State at Aug. 24’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge, hosted by Atlanta’s Center Parc Stadium.
The current Rattlers share the same mission of remaining poised to remain atop HBCU football as the last squad.
“We know we got a big target on our back. We just got to stay humble and keep doing what we’re doing,” FAMU’s Preseason All-SWAC defensive back Kendall Bohler told ESPN’s Symone Stanley during the SWAC Media Day broadcast.
FAMU football hopes to make another run at the Black College National Championship
Every new coach has to grapple with roster turnover.
Only three of 13 All-SWAC selections from last season return to this year’s FAMU football team.
Some departed through graduation, while others entered the transfer portal.
Additionally, FAMU has 27 transfers from Football Bowl Subdivision teams. According to HERO Sports’ Sam Herder, that is the most among Football Championship Subdivision programs.
“We had a list of every single guy that we lost. As we went into the portal, we looked for guys that duplicated what we lost,” Colzie said.
“We’re going to be a talented bunch. The most important thing is how well we’ll play together.”
Colzie said he and his staff have attracted 19 graduate transfers to add to a roster of 19 redshirt seniors.
As it was last season, having a veteran team is vital to FAMU’s championship aspirations.
“It makes it a hell of a lot easier to push those newer guys because of the respect and love the current players have for me,” Colzie said.
FAMU opens its SWAC schedule on Sept. 28, when the Rattlers host the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
It’ll be the start of FAMU making a run for its second consecutive SWAC Championship to clinch another spot in Dec. 14’s Celebration Bowl.
“It’s just wins and losses,” FAMU running back and Preseason All-SWAC second-teamer Kelvin Dean Jr. told Stanley.
“We got to know how to bounce back when things aren’t going our way. That was one of the most important parts of our championship run. We’re ready to put in that same work or more to return to where we came from.”
Florida A&M Rattlers 2024 Football Schedule
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Aug. 24 vs. Norfolk State in MEAC/SWAC Challenge, Atlanta* at 7:30 p.m., ABC
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Aug. 31 vs. South Carolina State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
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Sept. 7 at Miami, 6 p.m., ACC Network
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Sept. 21 at Troy, 7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+
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Sept. 28 vs. Alabama A&M, 6 p.m., ESPN+
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Oct. 5 at Alabama State, 3 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+
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Oct. 19 at Jackson State, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN Network
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Oct. 26 vs. Southern, 7 p.m., ESPN Network
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Nov. 2 vs. Texas Southern (HOMECOMING), 4 p.m., ESPN+
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Nov. 9 at Prairie View A&M, 3 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+
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Nov. 16 vs. Mississippi Valley State, 1 p.m., HBCU GO
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Nov. 23 vs. Bethune-Cookman in Florida Classic, Orlando*, 3:30 p.m., ESPN Network
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Nov. 30: FCS Playoffs Begin
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Dec. 7: SWAC Championship, LOCATION/TEAMS TBA, ESPN2
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Dec. 14: Celebration Bowl, Atlanta*, TEAMS TBA, 12 p.m., ABC
BOLD = SWAC
* = Neutral Site
Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
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