WATCH: FAMU football coach James Colzie III comments on 2025 spring game
James Colzie III is the head coach of the FAMU Rattlers football team.
- Florida A&M will begin preseason football training camp on August 1st.
- Key position battles include quarterback, wide receiver, defensive end, and cornerback.
- Several transfer players are vying for starting roles.
- The Rattlers’ season opener is against Howard in the Orange Blossom Classic on August 30th.
Florida A&M football will open preseason training camp on Friday, Aug. 1.
The Rattlers will open the month practicing for their season opener versus the Howard Bison in the Orange Blossom Classic at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30.
Training camp will play a significant role in who will be a part of the first 11 on offense and defense at the season opener.
Here are the positions that could be up for grabs and what players could be in contention to secure a spot atop the Rattlers’ depth chart.
Quarterback
FAMU’s quarterback situation is one of HBCU football’s hottest topics this offseason.
The Rattlers enter training camp with five quarterbacks, all with college football experience.
Tyler Jefferson transferred from Central Michigan, RJ Johnson III joined FAMU from Toledo, while Jett Peddy is from California’s Long Beach City College. Traven Green and Bryson Martin are holdovers from last year’s FAMU roster.
The Rattlers also landed former Florida Gators reserve quarterback Lawrence Wright IV this summer. However, he’s listed as an athlete.
Jefferson and Peddy have the most in-game experience.
Last year at Central Michigan, the left-handed dual-threat Jefferson completed 27 of 58 passes for 286 yards and rushed for 233 yards on 43 attempts. He started three games.
As Long Beach City College’s full-time starter, Peddy had 220 completions on 339 attempts for 2,706 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions.
The remaining FAMU quarterbacks have received minimal or no game reps.
Wide Receiver
“Who’s your X?” is often asked when determining a team’s top receiver.
FAMU has viable options for WR1 treatment, led by A’Ceon Cobb and Goldie Lawrence, who were both productive last season.
Cobb had 12 receptions for 250 yards and four touchdowns before going down with an injury after nine games. He was leading the Rattlers in receiving touchdowns at the time of his injury.
Lawrence caught 21 passes for 251 yards and scored a touchdown during the 2024 season.
Other names for FAMU’s receivers are Marquez Bell and Illinois transfer Kenari Wilcher.
Defensive End
Who will hold down the edge opposite the Rattlers’ Southwestern Athletic Conference Preseason First Team defensive end Davion Westmoreland?
Of returning players, it could be Antonio Camon or James Gardner Jr.
Camon was a reserve during the 2024 season, but showed promise this spring. Gardner had 36 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks last year.
FAMU also brought numerous transfers for the defensive line, such as Adeon Farmer (Fort Valley State), Daryl Jones (Virginia), Jahon Myers (Kennesaw State), and Xavier Perkins (Florida State).
Myers and Farmer played most at their previous stops out of FAMU’s transfers.
Myers’ Kennesaw career stats are 46 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and one forced fumble in three seasons. Farmer, on the NCAA Division II level at Fort Valley, collected 101 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, and two fumble recoveries in three years.
Cornerback
FAMU had two preseason All-SWAC selections for cornerbacks: TJ Huggins and Jameel Sanders. Huggins made the first team while Sanders got a second team nod.
However, FAMU head coach James Colzie III, who also coaches the cornerbacks, said there’s constant competition within the group at SWAC Media Day two weeks ago.
Justin Bostic got some run with the starting defense in games last year. Simion Hines, too. Both will be back for the Rattlers this season.
Transfer defensive backs who could play one of the cornerback spots are Jayden Bradford (Florida State), Daylyn Ditson (East Carolina), and Caleb McKenzie (South Dakota). Of the trio, Bradford got the most playing time with his former team, posting stats of 38 tackles and five pass deflections in two seasons.
Another FAMU defensive back who could break the starting lineup is Jordan Cumberbatch, a veteran with the Rattlers since 2022.
Kicker
The Rattlers will have a new kicker this year.
FAMU’s roster includes Emilio Bacardi, Cooper Badics, and Andrew Abu-Akel.
Bacardi comes from the high school level at Lake Mary, while Badics transferred from Edward Waters, and Abu-Akel comes from Western Michigan.
Gabriel Perez from Florida International and Daniel Porto, a Holy Cross transfer, committed to the Rattlers this summer. Both haven’t been updated to FAMU’s official roster just yet.
Badics has previous college experience, making nine field goals on 15 attempts last year, with his longest being 42 yards at Edward Waters.
Porto made 13 of 17 field goal attempts last season and made Holy Cross’ longest field goal in program history of 53 yards.
Florida A&M Football 2025 Schedule
- Week 1: Saturday, Aug. 30 ― vs. Howard (Orange Blossom Classic at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium), 4 p.m., ESPNU
- Week 2: Saturday, Sept. 6 ― at Florida Atlantic, 6 p.m., ESPN Plus
- Week 3: Saturday, Sept. 13 ― vs. Albany State, 7 p.m., SWAC TV
- Week 4: BYE/OPEN WEEK
- Week 5: Saturday, Sept. 27 ― vs. Alabama State (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Week 6: Saturday, Oct. 4 ― vs. Mississippi Valley State (SWAC/at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium), 4 p.m., SWAC TV
- Week 7: Saturday, Oct. 11 ― vs. North Carolina Central, 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Week 8: Saturday, Oct. 18 ― vs. Alcorn State (SWAC/Homecoming), 4 p.m., ESPN Plus
- Week 9: Saturday, Oct. 25 ― at Southern (SWAC), 5 p.m., SWAC TV
- Week 10: Saturday, Nov. 1 ― vs. Jackson State (SWAC), 7 p.m., ESPN Network
- Week 11: Saturday, Nov. 8 ― at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC), 3 p.m., HBCU GO
- Week 12: Saturday, Nov. 15 ― at Alabama A&M (SWAC), 3 p.m., SWAC TV
- Week 13: Saturday, Nov. 22 ― vs. Bethune-Cookman (SWAC/Florida Classic at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium)
- Saturday, Nov. 29 ― NCAA FCS Playoffs Begin (If Necessary)
- Saturday, Dec. 6 ― SWAC Championship Game (If Necessary)
- Saturday, Dec. 13 ― Celebration Bowl at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium (If Necessary)
- Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 ― NCAA FCS National Championship Game at Nashville’s FirstBank Stadium (If Necessary)
All times listed are in Eastern Standard Time.
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
