The class is closed.
Florida A&M spring semester concluded last Friday. However, the football team will continue to establish the framework for the Black College National Championship defense.
The Rattlers are targeting a May 13 start date for summer workouts in conjunction with FAMU’s Summer A semester. The team will lift weights, condition, and participate in seven-on-seven activities.
Fall training camp is scheduled to begin July 24, a month before FAMU football returns to action against Norfolk State for the Week 0 MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta.
First-year FAMU head coach James Colzie III says he hopes to build camaraderie throughout the team and is excited to see which player will emerge as a locker room leader this summer.
“Just to bring our team together a little more to develop this bond. We are developing and trying to figure out who our new leaders will be, hopefully during the first summer session,” Colzie told Tallahassee Democrat in a one-on-one interview at Galimore-Powell Fieldhouse.
“As coaches, we’ll have our plan on what we’re going to do, installing and getting some of these new guys up to par with what we’re doing.”
It’s been three weeks since Colzie oversaw his first spring season as FAMU’s head coach. The Rattlers had their annual Orange and Green Spring football game on April 13th.
The spring month-long grind gave Colzie a sense of the makeup and needs of the FAMU football team.
Colzie emphasizes adding and developing depth to the heavier Rattlers.
“We got all this new stuff that we’re getting over,” Colzie said of leading the Rattlers’ spring practice. “Nothing has changed at the top of our squad. We want to make some improvements at the end of our lineup.”
FAMU Football Recruiting to Fill Roster for 2024 Season
Recruiting is a year-round responsibility in college sports.
Especially with the emergence of the NCAA Transfer Portal, which allows athletes to find new homes without having to sit around for a year like in the past.
The portal has been removed and ceded to FAMU since the end of the 2023 championship season.
Colzie can only comment on recruits after they are hired. However, the Rattlers have recently landed commitments from some Power 5 talent, such as tight end Karter Johnson Pitt and defensive backs Corey Collier Jr. of Nebraska.
“We’re not just sitting here with our hands down,” Colzie said. “The coordinators did a great job putting together their lists. We had to take on the task, especially with the combination of our seniors and the portal folks trying to figure out what they wanted to do next.
“We have a lot of guys who say they’re coming but haven’t announced it yet because everyone has their own fantastic way of announcing now,” Colzie joked. “We will have some more surprises coming. There are some really good players who will do well here at Florida A&M.
“Once we have a chance to put the final product together, the goals and expectations will remain the same.”
The Rattlers lost an influx of non-graduate players.
The departures include four All-SWAC defensive players: Johnny Chaney Jr., Anthony DunnGentle Hunt and Lovie Jenkins.
Colzie is recruiting relentlessly to replace departing transfers, but he also feels some players will return to the FAMU program.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported last Friday that FAMU’s top advocates Deco Wilson Withdrew from the transfer portal. Additionally, this past Saturday, hybrid defensive lineman-linebacker Allen Smith announced on X/Twitter that he is partnering with the Patrick Youth Development Foundation for a name, image and likeness agreement with FAMU alumnus Eli Patrick, the which could mean a Smith-Rattlers reunion.
“I can’t say,” Colzie said when asked who was withdrawing from the portal. “But, yeah, we have some guys wanting to come back. You’ll see when they do.
“The most important thing is that if you decided to enter the portal, we would continue recruiting. And we had to re-recruit some of our employees on the portal. It’s part of the landscape and we’re understanding that.”
Graduation, camps and relaxation headline FAMU football summer
During the university’s graduation ceremonies, FAMU football celebrated seven graduates this past weekend.
Kendall Bohler, Tyrese Gibson-BattlesTerrell Jennings, Sylvester Mathis IV, Darian Oxendine, Jeremiah Pruitteand Hunt received his degrees.
Headlined by 2023 Boxtorow HBCU All-American Bohler, Gibson-Battles, Mathis and Pruitte are all eligible for 2024. Jennings is headed to the New England Patriots’ rookie minicamp.
“I applaud our guys,” Colzie said of his graduates. “This is a big deal for them, their families and our football team.”
FAMU football summer is in full swing.
Colzie will host the annual Little Rattlers camp this summer. Additionally, FAMU will have two prospect camps this summer on June 18th and/or 20th.
But Colzie will set aside some time for his team, players and himself to expire before it’s all systems go to get ready for next season.
“The coaches will have a vacation,” Colzie said. “As soon as we start, everyone will be hunkered down, getting ready for the season.”
Florida A&M Rattlers 2024 Football Schedule
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August 24 vs. Norfolk State in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge, Atlanta*
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August 31 vs. South Carolina State
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September 7th in Miami
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September 21 in Troy
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September 28 vs. Alabama A&M
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October 5th in the state of Alabama
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Oct. 19 at Jackson State
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October 26th vs. South
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November 2 vs. Texas Southern (HOMECOMING)
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Nov. 9 at Prairie View A&M
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November 16 vs. Mississippi Valley State
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November 23 vs. Bethune-Cookman, Orlando*
BLACK = SWAC
* = Neutral Location
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 Twitter @3peatgee.
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This article originally appeared in the Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU Football: Spring is over, school is over. What’s next for the Rattlers?
