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As widely expected, Isaiah Knowles will have the keys to the Florida A&M football offense this season.
In an Aug. 6 press release from the athletic department, FAMU named Knowles the starting quarterback as the Rattlers enter 2026’s kickoff against the Albany State Golden Rams on Aug. 29, a Week 0 game.
Knowles is a graduate student who transferred from Albany State this January, following new head coach Quinn Fordham Gray Sr., a FAMU Sports Hall of Fame quarterback, to The Highest of Seven Hills. The immediate thought was that he was the presumed starter for the inaugural year under the Gray coaching regime.
The Tampa native also arrives in Tallahassee with NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision experience, starting his college football career at the United States Naval Academy. This fall will be his final year of eligibility.
“I think we are going to be an aggressive team,” Gray said in the press release.
“Isaiah is ahead (of the other Rattler quarterbacks) because he knows the system. We’ve done some good things together, and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
The 5-foot-11, 205-pound pro-style quarterback was a shining star in Gray’s Albany State offense, tossing for nearly 5,000 yards, throwing 50 touchdowns, and rushing for 11, against just 14 interceptions across three years.
Last year, Albany State had the 36th-best scoring offense in all of NCAA Division II. Knowles was named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 and 2025, both years he was the starter.
In 2025, the Golden Rams won the SIAC title, reached the Division II playoffs quarterfinals, and were named the Black College Football National Champions.
“Being named the SIAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 and 2025 was truly a blessing, and I give all the glory to God,” Knowles told FAMU’s sports information department. “Getting those awards was a testament [to] how good we were offensively. The 2025 award was honestly surprising to me because I had missed three games due to an injury. Earning the OPOY award in 2025 and then the next day winning the SIAC championship was truly a blessing.”
FAMU’s remaining roster of quarterbacks is freshman Armond Parker and graduate students Dustin Fletcher and James Hayes. Nicholas Sewak is the co-offensive coordinator, and Reid Sanders is the quarterbacks coach.
FAMU will run an uptempo scheme similar to the Gulf Coast Offense as they look to perfect it during preseason training camp, which continues through Saturday, Aug. 22.
An honor roll student, Knowles holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Albany State. He’s studying for a second bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at FAMU.
Knowles will wear No. 6 for the Rattlers.
Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat under the USA TODAY Network.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football's Isaiah Knowles officially named starting quarterback
Continue reading...
In an Aug. 6 press release from the athletic department, FAMU named Knowles the starting quarterback as the Rattlers enter 2026’s kickoff against the Albany State Golden Rams on Aug. 29, a Week 0 game.
Knowles is a graduate student who transferred from Albany State this January, following new head coach Quinn Fordham Gray Sr., a FAMU Sports Hall of Fame quarterback, to The Highest of Seven Hills. The immediate thought was that he was the presumed starter for the inaugural year under the Gray coaching regime.
The Tampa native also arrives in Tallahassee with NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision experience, starting his college football career at the United States Naval Academy. This fall will be his final year of eligibility.
“I think we are going to be an aggressive team,” Gray said in the press release.
“Isaiah is ahead (of the other Rattler quarterbacks) because he knows the system. We’ve done some good things together, and hopefully we can continue to do that.”
The 5-foot-11, 205-pound pro-style quarterback was a shining star in Gray’s Albany State offense, tossing for nearly 5,000 yards, throwing 50 touchdowns, and rushing for 11, against just 14 interceptions across three years.
Last year, Albany State had the 36th-best scoring offense in all of NCAA Division II. Knowles was named the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 and 2025, both years he was the starter.
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In 2025, the Golden Rams won the SIAC title, reached the Division II playoffs quarterfinals, and were named the Black College Football National Champions.
“Being named the SIAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 and 2025 was truly a blessing, and I give all the glory to God,” Knowles told FAMU’s sports information department. “Getting those awards was a testament [to] how good we were offensively. The 2025 award was honestly surprising to me because I had missed three games due to an injury. Earning the OPOY award in 2025 and then the next day winning the SIAC championship was truly a blessing.”
FAMU’s remaining roster of quarterbacks is freshman Armond Parker and graduate students Dustin Fletcher and James Hayes. Nicholas Sewak is the co-offensive coordinator, and Reid Sanders is the quarterbacks coach.
FAMU will run an uptempo scheme similar to the Gulf Coast Offense as they look to perfect it during preseason training camp, which continues through Saturday, Aug. 22.
An honor roll student, Knowles holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Albany State. He’s studying for a second bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies at FAMU.
Knowles will wear No. 6 for the Rattlers.
Florida A&M football 2026 schedule
- Saturday, Aug. 29: vs. Albany State, 7 p.m., SWAC TV
- Sunday, Sept. 6: vs. South Carolina State, Orange Blossom Classic at Miami Gardens' Hard Rock Stadium, 3 p.m., ESPNU
- Thursday, Sept. 10: at Miami, 8 p.m., ACC Network
- Saturday, Sept. 19: vs. Tennessee State, 7 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Sept. 26: vs. Alabama A&M (SWAC), 7 p.m., SWAC TV
- Saturday, Oct. 3: BYE
- Saturday, Oct. 10: at Alabama State (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Oct. 17: at Jackson State (SWAC), 3 p.m., ESPN Network
- Saturday, Oct. 24: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC/Homecoming), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Oct. 31: vs. Southern (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Saturday, Nov. 7: at Alcorn State (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
- Saturday, Nov. 14: vs. Mississippi Valley State (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
- Saturday, Nov. 21: vs. Bethune-Cookman (SWAC/Florida Classic), 3:30 p.m., ESPN+
Gerald Thomas, III, is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat under the USA TODAY Network.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at [email protected] or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football's Isaiah Knowles officially named starting quarterback
Continue reading...
