Spring football practice is the first assessment of what is expected of the team for the upcoming season.
Florida A&M will begin that process on Tuesday, the first of 15 spring practices.
It feels like yesterday that confetti was falling from the rafters of Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the 2023 Celebration Bowl champion Rattlers.
But a lot has happened since the Black College Football National Championship game on December 16, 2023.
The Rattlers now have a new head football coach and a mostly new roster for the 2024 season.
So many stories will unfold during FAMU's spring practice, which concludes with the Orange and Green's spring game on April 13th.
Let's take a look at some of the key plot points from the Rattlers' spring practice.
How James Colzie III established himself as FAMU football's new head coach
James Colsey III has been named the leader of the Rattlers football program.
Colzi was hired on Jan. 27 as FAMU's 19th full-time head football coach, replacing Willie Simmons, Duke University's new running backs coach.
Colzie spent the past two seasons as the Rattlers' cornerbacks coach. He added assistant head coach to his duties in 2023. His promotion to head coach will add a new element to his approach as he will be responsible for the entire team and coaching staff.
Colzi has six years and five seasons as head coach at Saint Mary's University in Canada (2020 season canceled/COVID-19), where he led the Huskies to two appearances in the Atlantic University Sports Championship.
It will be interesting to see the transition from Simmons to Colzie and their similarities and differences in their approaches to leading FAMU football.
Revitalized FAMU offense receives first evaluation in quarterback battle
Who will make the leap to become QB1 for the Rattlers?
Promoted FAMU assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Joseph Henry will be tasked with making that decision as the Rattlers' new play-caller.
At the moment, FAMU returnee Junior Muratovic and Florida Atlantic transfer Daniel Richardson are in a two-legged battle to be the quarterback of the Rattlers' newly nicknamed “Thunder and Lightning” offense.
Muratovic, a redshirt young and rising player, sat behind former FAMU quarterbacks Rashawn McKay and Jeremy Moussa, patiently waiting his turn. Muratovic joined FAMU in 2021 and has started two games. He completed 54 percent of his passes for 311 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Richardson, a graduate student, comes to FAMU with Football Bowl Subdivision experience at Central Michigan and FAU. His career stats are 7,392 yards, 56 touchdowns, and a 61 percent completion rate on 23 attempts at CMU and FAU.
FAMU currently plans to add eight quarterbacks to its roster for the 2024 season.
'Dark Cloud Defense' is back in a big way, but with a new Overseer
Milton Patterson has been promoted to be FAMU's new defensive coordinator.
Patterson will replace Ryan Smith, who is currently Murray State's defensive coordinator. Smith led FAMU's “Dark Cloud Defense” to the nation's second all-time defense of the Football Championship Division last season.
The Rattlers' new defensive coordinator, Patterson, a former defensive line coach, has been on the staff since 2021. He coached former FAMU star and current Indianapolis Colts defensive end Isaiah Land to the 2021 Buck Buchanan Award after leading all Division I divisions (FBS and FCS). . ) 19 bags included.
FAMU has three All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selections enter the NCAA transfer portal: defensive lineman Gentle Hunt, linebacker Johnny Chaney Jr. and defensive back Lovie Jenkins.
The Rattlers convinced Hunt and Jenkins to return. Those players will be joined by All-American cornerback Kendall Boller and All-SWAC defensive lineman Anthony Dunn Jr.
In addition, FAMU has secured commitments and commitments from 2020 Under Armor All-Americans transfers defensive lineman Clyde Pinder Jr. and defensive back Demorie Tate. Pinder attended North Carolina, South Florida and Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Tate is coming to his FAMU from Florida State.
The talent of the 2024 Dark Cloud Defense will give new FAMU defensive coordinator Patterson plenty of options to utilize.
Florida A&M Rattlers Spring Football Schedule
Practice 1: March 5th (Tuesday)
Practice 2: Thursday, March 7th
Practice 3: March 8th (Friday)
Practice 4: March 19th (Tuesday)
Practice 5: Thursday, March 21st
Practice 6: March 22nd (Friday)
Practice 7: March 26th (Tuesday)
Practice 8: Thursday, March 28th
Practice 9: March 29th (Friday)
Practice 10: April 2nd (Tuesday)
Practice 11: April 4th (Thursday)
Practice 12: Friday, April 5th
Practice 13: April 9th (Tuesday)
Practice 14: Thursday, April 11th
Orange and Green Spring Game: Saturday, April 13, 4 p.m.
Gerald Thomas III covers Florida A&M University athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Reach him by email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as his Twitter. @3peatgee.
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