TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Florida A&M football team opens up the season week zero. The Rattlers open up fall camp Friday.
Head coach Willie Simmons told us he's been counting down the days until camp begins. FAMU put in the work this spring and this summer, and even with the talent they have coming back, they bolstered this team by hitting the transfer portal.
Adding those transfers was crucial. Coach said with players getting that extra COVID year, their roster was at an imbalance.
Now, it's not.
"A combination of junior college transfers, four year transfers from the FBS level, and even a couple of four year transfers from the Division II level," he said of the talent the Rattlers added. "We worked really hard to try and bring the right type of young men into the program, guys who understand what it means to be a true student athlete. That's what we're about here at Florida A&M, and we feel really good about the guys we recruited and signed, and we are looking forward to seeing what they can do in orange and green."
That talent is ready for a season with big expectations. Simmons said this upcoming season is bigger then any season they've been a part of.
Along with the talented transfers, they have the reigning Buck Buchanan award winner and an experienced quarterback. Now it's about putting everything together so they can get the job done this fall.
"We feel like we have a talented enough team to be able to hoist that trophy at the end of the season," said Simmons. "That's the ultimate goal obviously. These guys understand that. The coaches understand that, the support staff, the administration, the fan base, everyone understands what our expectations are. We expect to go out and be excellent this year."
FAMU opens the season August 27th at North Carolina.
