- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,257,373
- Reaction score
- 59
Florida A&M football took some blows last season.
A lot of them.
But a bonded locker room may be the root of the Rattlers’ reascendance into the national Black College Football and NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision conversation after finishing 5-7 in 2025, their first losing season since 2017.
“The biggest difference, guys really want to be here,” said redshirt senior running back Jamal Hailey, who rushed for 516 yards and scored eight total touchdowns last year.
“The energy, the brotherhood, is way different from last year. I feel like we’re a lot closer on both sides of the ball. So I think that plays a big part in how we compete. Everybody’s unselfish. At the end of the day, brotherhood can take us a long way.”
FAMU has a new head coach in its beloved Hall of Fame quarterback, Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. Hired last December, he replaced former head coach James Colzie III after two seasons and a 12-12 record.
Gray previously was at Albany State. He went 24-11 in three seasons, bringing a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference trophy and a Black College Football National Championship last year to the South Georgia-based Division II school.
Gray’s return to The Highest of Seven Hills prompted key additions through the NCAA Transfer Portal, including starting quarterback Isaiah Knowles.
The graduate student and pro-style quarterback spent Gray’s entire tenure with him in Albany State. The back-to-back SIAC Offensive Player of the Year from 2024 and 2025 passed for nearly 5,000 yards, scored 61 touchdowns (50 passing, 11 rushing), and tossed only 14 interceptions.
Knowles helped keep the program afloat as Gray replaced former head coach Gabe Giardina, now Charleston Southern’s head coach, after going 37-17 with the Albany State Golden Rams.
Now, the duo must rebuild a FAMU team that fell off the wagon a season ago.
“Coach Gray brings a great culture where I’ve been part of at Albany,” Knowles said. “We’re really just bringing that culture over to here. I don’t know what it was like the past couple of years, so I can’t speak on those things. To have the guys really buy in, I think Rattler football is going to be in good hands this upcoming season.”
Success starts with the players.
And not necessarily on the field.
FAMU has named a leadership council. Hailey and Knowles were both elected to it.
“Being player-led,” Hailey said when asked what steps FAMU is taking to improve its on-field product. “We have a lot of guys who hold each other accountable. It’s not just position-based. That’s the biggest thing for us.”
Though on an NCAA Level Two Academic Progress Rate postseason ban, the Rattlers have much to prove after being one of HBCU football’s punching bags last fall.
They were voted to finish fourth out of six teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s East division, debuted at 10th in the inaugural Black College Football Poll, and had no players on the All-SWAC preseason teams.
The formative days of FAMU’s quest to make some noise this season and silence the critics are underway.
Training camp began on Friday, July 31, ahead of FAMU’s season and home opener against Albany State on Tallahassee’s Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Aug. 29.
“It’s fall camp ― the dead days of the summer,” Gray said. “I’m just looking forward to these guys getting better every day. If we can go 1-0 every day, win the day every day, we should be where we need to be when Albany State rolls in here.”
Camp continued on Sunday, Aug. 2, for its second out of 14 practices. The Rattlers will then hit the field again on Monday, Aug. 3.
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: How FAMU football's new culture has the Rattlers believing again
Continue reading...
A lot of them.
But a bonded locker room may be the root of the Rattlers’ reascendance into the national Black College Football and NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision conversation after finishing 5-7 in 2025, their first losing season since 2017.
“The biggest difference, guys really want to be here,” said redshirt senior running back Jamal Hailey, who rushed for 516 yards and scored eight total touchdowns last year.
“The energy, the brotherhood, is way different from last year. I feel like we’re a lot closer on both sides of the ball. So I think that plays a big part in how we compete. Everybody’s unselfish. At the end of the day, brotherhood can take us a long way.”
FAMU has a new head coach in its beloved Hall of Fame quarterback, Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. Hired last December, he replaced former head coach James Colzie III after two seasons and a 12-12 record.
Gray previously was at Albany State. He went 24-11 in three seasons, bringing a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference trophy and a Black College Football National Championship last year to the South Georgia-based Division II school.
Gray’s return to The Highest of Seven Hills prompted key additions through the NCAA Transfer Portal, including starting quarterback Isaiah Knowles.
The graduate student and pro-style quarterback spent Gray’s entire tenure with him in Albany State. The back-to-back SIAC Offensive Player of the Year from 2024 and 2025 passed for nearly 5,000 yards, scored 61 touchdowns (50 passing, 11 rushing), and tossed only 14 interceptions.
You must be registered for see images attach
Knowles helped keep the program afloat as Gray replaced former head coach Gabe Giardina, now Charleston Southern’s head coach, after going 37-17 with the Albany State Golden Rams.
Now, the duo must rebuild a FAMU team that fell off the wagon a season ago.
“Coach Gray brings a great culture where I’ve been part of at Albany,” Knowles said. “We’re really just bringing that culture over to here. I don’t know what it was like the past couple of years, so I can’t speak on those things. To have the guys really buy in, I think Rattler football is going to be in good hands this upcoming season.”
Success starts with the players.
And not necessarily on the field.
FAMU has named a leadership council. Hailey and Knowles were both elected to it.
“Being player-led,” Hailey said when asked what steps FAMU is taking to improve its on-field product. “We have a lot of guys who hold each other accountable. It’s not just position-based. That’s the biggest thing for us.”
Though on an NCAA Level Two Academic Progress Rate postseason ban, the Rattlers have much to prove after being one of HBCU football’s punching bags last fall.
They were voted to finish fourth out of six teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s East division, debuted at 10th in the inaugural Black College Football Poll, and had no players on the All-SWAC preseason teams.
You must be registered for see images
The formative days of FAMU’s quest to make some noise this season and silence the critics are underway.
Training camp began on Friday, July 31, ahead of FAMU’s season and home opener against Albany State on Tallahassee’s Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Aug. 29.
“It’s fall camp ― the dead days of the summer,” Gray said. “I’m just looking forward to these guys getting better every day. If we can go 1-0 every day, win the day every day, we should be where we need to be when Albany State rolls in here.”
Camp continued on Sunday, Aug. 2, for its second out of 14 practices. The Rattlers will then hit the field again on Monday, Aug. 3.
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: How FAMU football's new culture has the Rattlers believing again
Continue reading...
