Florida A&M head football coach James Colzie III now has a gauge of his inaugural Rattlers team.

On Saturday, the Rattlers held their first closed scrimmage at the ninth team practice of preseason training camp.

“Excited to finally get ourselves a type of game format,” Colzie said in a post-scrimmage Zoom call with media. “Eighty plays working with the ones and the twos, and then we mixed in some punt and kickoff returns.”

Colzie said the defense held the Rattler offense out of the endzone until the end of the scrimmage.

He added the offense was placed near the redzone and in a must-score situation. FAMU running back Kelvin Dean Jr. broke multiple tackles in route to getting the offense on the board.

Dean’s rushing touchdown and an interception by Rattlers defensive back TJ Huggins were Colzie’s plays of the day.

FAMU football's defensive lineman leads bounce back performance for 'Dark Cloud Defense'

Since last Wednesday’s practice, Colzie said the Rattlers’ offense was starring at practice and besting the defense.

However, after Saturday’s scrimmage, FAMU’s ‘Dark Cloud Defense’ garnered praise from the Rattlers head coach.

“I know the last couple of days, the offense won. But it wouldn’t hurt me to say the defense won today,” Colzie said.

Having a solid defensive line has become a formality for the Rattlers.

Saturday’s standout players were defensive tackle James Ash and defensive ends Allen Smith Jr. and Davion Westmoreland, Colzie said.

He added that the FAMU defense pressured FAMU quarterbacks Junior Muratovic and Daniel Richardson without using blitz packages.

“Those are guys we’re going to ask a lot of, and we know they’re going to do a lot,” Colzie said of the defensive linemen. “I think we finished the day with either five or six sacks. They were putting pressure the entire time.”

FAMU football's quarterbacks tested in first preseason scrimmage

Saturday began the latest chapter of FAMU’s ongoing quarterback battle between Muratovic and Richardson.

Colzie said the quarterbacks did well distributing the ball.

However, the defense’s showing didn’t do the quarterbacks any favors while forcing two interceptions Saturday.

“Junior and Daniel spread the ball around decently, but the pressure made it tough on them,” Colzie said.

“We had two interceptions today. One of them was a bad throw by one of the quarterbacks. The other one, the DB worked hard and did a great job making the interception.”

In three weeks, the Rattlers will have a starting quarterback to kick off the season at Atlanta’s MEAC/SWAC Challenge versus Norfolk State on Aug. 24.

Colzie said command and ball security are characteristics he identifies as an ideal quarterback.

“The two things I want them to make sure they do is run our offense. I mean commanding protections and the receivers ― making sure they’re lined up correctly,” Colzie said.

“Most importantly, we have to make sure we take care of the football.”

FAMU football's first scrimmage provides growing points as training camp continues

FAMU had referees for Saturday’s scrimmage.

The officials gave the Rattlers a sense of where they stood regarding small details that go unnoticed without a trained referee’s eye.

“A lot of the little things as far as alignment, that we might have taken for granted the first couple of days ― the officials were out there calling them,” Colzie said.

“We had a couple of holding calls, a couple of calls lined up offsides, and a couple where we didn’t have enough on the line. That hurts us offensively and defensively depending on when it happens.”

The first scrimmage has provided a barometer for improvement points for the Rattlers.

Next is FAMU’s 10th of 25 preseason practices on Sunday. It is closed to the media and the public.

“We have to make sure we take care of those details. We start drives 1st and 15 or 1st and 25 because of penalties,” Colzie said.

“Fundamentals, discipline, details, alignment, correct eyes, and being able to play Rattler football.”

Florida A&M Rattlers 2024 Football Schedule

• Aug. 24 vs. Norfolk State in MEAC/SWAC Challenge, Atlanta* at 7:30 p.m., ABC

• Aug. 31 vs. South Carolina State, 6 p.m., ESPN+

• Sept. 7 at Miami, 6 p.m., ACC Network

• Sept. 21 at Troy, 7 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+

• Sept. 28 vs. Alabama A&M, 6 p.m., ESPN+

• Oct. 5 at Alabama State, 3 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+

• Oct. 19 at Jackson State, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN Network

• Oct. 26 vs. Southern, 7 p.m., ESPN Network

• Nov. 2 vs. Texas Southern (HOMECOMING), 4 p.m., ESPN+

• Nov. 9 at Prairie View A&M, 3 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN+

• Nov. 16 vs. Mississippi Valley State, 1 p.m., HBCU GO

• Nov. 23 vs. Bethune-Cookman in Florida Classic, Orlando*, 3:30 p.m., ESPN Network

• Nov. 30: FCS Playoffs Begin

• Dec. 7: SWAC Championship, LOCATION/TEAMS TBA, ESPN2

• Dec. 14: Celebration Bowl, Atlanta*, TEAMS TBA, 12 p.m., ABC

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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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football's defense shines in first preseason scrimmage of 2024