With Willie Simmons off to Duke, can FAMU continue to top the SWAC standings in 2024?

The city of Tallahassee has been witness to unprecedented football success in the past five years. No, it hasn’t been at Florida State, although Mike Norvell has the program headed in the right direction.

Instead, just a couple miles southeast, former head coach Willie Simmons has been leading the Florida A&M Rattlers to top-two finishes in the SWAC every year he’s been in Florida’s capital city, including an undefeated conference record last year. Simmons efforts culminated in Florida A&M being named the Black College National co-champions in 2019 and 2023.

But after last season’s success, Simmons decided to take his talents to the ACC, becoming the running backs coach at Duke under head coach Manny Diaz. The move was a huge blow to the Rattlers and to HBCU football, where Simmons was considered one of the most promising coaching talents.

The school soon pivoted from Simmons and promoted cornerbacks coach James Colzie III to the interim coaching position. That interim tag was later removed, and Colzie was named the permanent head coach on January 29th.

The good news for Colzie and the Rattlers is that the team has retooled its roster, getting talented Power-Four and G5 players through the transfer portal. One of those players is quarterback Daniel Richardson, who was named the starter for the season-opener against Norfolk State.

Richardson is coming to the Rattlers from Florida Atlantic, where he passed for 2001 yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 10 interceptions.

Other transfers include former Florida State defensive back Demorie Tate, former USF defensive back Jameel Sanders, former Florida Atlantic receiver A’Ceon Cobb and former UCF receiver Amari Johnson.

But FAMU also has returning veterans primed to make an impact. Redshirt senior James Ash is considered one of the SWAC’s top returning interior defensive lineman after accumulating 42 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss in 2023. Defensive end Allen Smith, a graduate student, also elected to remain with the Rattlers after flirting with the transfer portal. He recorded 30 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks last season. Ash and Smith seemed prime to cause havoc on opposing offenses this year.

Another player awaiting a breakout year is receiver Jamari Gassett. Despite playing behind All-SWAC standouts Jah’Marae Sheread and Marcus Riley, Gassett was still able to tally 24 receptions for 320 yards and three touchdowns.

Without Sheeread and Riley, Gassett will look to be the Rattlers’ number one receiver in 2024.

Because of the talent Florida A&M kept and enticed through the transfer portal, expectations remain high in Tallahassee. Many feel that the Rattlers should still be one of the favorites to win the SWAC this season, even if its competitors believe they’ve taken a step forward.

They will open up playing Norfolk State and South Carolina State, two of the weaker teams out of the MEAC conference. However, they’ll be tested in weeks three and four, as they’ll go on the road to play Miami (FL) and the Sun Belt’s Troy Trojans before they head into SWAC play.

The Rattlers’ toughest opponents in its conference slate– Alabama State, Jackson State and Prairie View A&M– all come on the road.

With such a challenging schedule, Florida A&M will have a tough time replicating its 12-1 record from last season.

But even with a first-year coach at the helm, the SWAC understands that the conference championship runs through Tallahassee– even if Simmons is no longer present.