Class is dismissed.
Florida A&M’s spring semester concluded last Friday. However, the football team will continue setting the framework for defending its Black College National Championship.
The Rattlers eye 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 slated to begin on July 24, a month before FAMU football returns to action against Norfolk State for Week 0’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta.
First-year FAMU head coach James Colzie III says he looks forward to building camaraderie throughout the team and is excited to see which player arises as the locker room leader this summer.
“Just to get our team together a little more to get that bond development. We’re developing and trying to find out who our new leaders will be, hopefully during that first summer session,” Colzie told the Tallahassee Democrat in a one-on-one interview at Galimore-Powell Fieldhouse.
“As coaches, we’ll have our plan in what we’re going to be doing, installing, and getting some of these new guys up to par.”
It’s been three weeks since Colzie proctored his first spring season as FAMU’s head coach. The Rattlers had their annual Orange and Green Spring Football Game on April 13.
The monthlong spring grind has given Colzie a grasp of his FAMU football team’s makeup and team needs.
Colzie emphasizes adding and developing depth to the top-heavy Rattlers.
“We got all these firsts that we’re getting past,” Colzie said of leading the Rattlers’ spring practices. “Nothing’s changed with the top of our roster. We want to make some improvements with the bottom of our roster.”
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 for a year like the past.
The portal has taken from and given to FAMU since the end of 2023’s championship season.
Colzie can only comment on recruits once they’re signed. However, the Rattlers have recently gotten commitments from some Power 5 talent, such as tight end Karter Johnson from Pitt and defensive back Corey Collier Jr. from Nebraska.
“We’re not just sitting here with our hands down,” Colzie said. “Coordinators have done a really good job of getting their lists together. We had to step up to the task, especially with the combination of our seniors and the portal guys trying to figure out what they want to do next.
“We have many guys who say they’re coming but haven’t announced yet because everyone has their fantastic way of announcing now,” Colzie joked. “We’ll have a few more surprises coming up. There are some really good players who will do well here at Florida A&M.
“Once we get a chance to get that final product together, the goals and the expectations will remain the same.”
The Rattlers have lost an influx of players to the portal.
The departures include four All-SWAC defensive performers: Johnny Chaney Jr., Anthony Dunn, Gentle Hunt, and Lovie Jenkins.
Colzie is endlessly recruiting to replace the leaving transfers, but he also feels some players will return to the FAMU program.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported last Friday that key FAMU defensive back Deco Wilson withdrew from the transfer portal. Furthermore, last Saturday, hybrid defensive lineman-linebacker Allen Smith announced on X/Twitter that he’s partnering with Patrick Youth Development Foundation for a Name, Image, Likeness deal with FAMU alumnus Eli Patrick, which could signify a Smith-Rattlers reunion.
“I can’t say,” Colzie said when asked who’s all withdrawing from the portal. “But, yeah, we got a couple of guys looking to return. You’ll see once they do.
“The biggest thing is that if you decided to enter the portal, we kept recruiting. And we had to do some re-recruiting for some of our guys in the portal. It’s part of the landscape, and we’re understanding it.”
During the university’s commencement ceremonies, FAMU football celebrated 10 graduates this past weekend.
Kendall Bohler, Kelvin Dean Jr., Tyrese Gibson-Battles, Aric Horne, Terrell Jennings, Sylvester Mathis IV, Darian Oxendine, Jeremiah Pruitte, Cesar Reyes, and Hunt received their degrees.
Bohler, a 2023 Boxtorow HBCU All-American cornerback, and 2023 Celebration Bowl Offensive Most Valuable Player running back Dean, headline FAMU football graduates who are eligible to play next season. Jennings is headed to the New England Patriots’ rookie minicamp.
“I applaud our guys,” Colzie said of his graduates. “That’s a big deal for them, their families, and our football team.”
FAMU football’s summer is now in full swing.
Colzie will host the annual Little Rattlers camp this summer. Additionally, FAMU will have two prospect camps on June 18 and/or June 20.
But Colzie will allocate some time for his staff, players, and himself to exhale before it becomes all systems go to prepare for the upcoming season.
“Coaches will get some vacation,” Colzie said. “Once we get going, everybody will be hunkered down, getting ready for the season.”
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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