Tuesday’s early morning rain couldn’t dampen the excitement of the Florida A&M football team.

The Rattlers returned to Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium for their first spring football practice of the 2024 season.

Fourteen practices remain as the Rattlers are scheduled to practice three times a week leading into the Orange and Green Spring Football Game April 13.

“They looked good,” James Colzie III assessed his team after leading his first spring practice as FAMU’s head football coach.

“The guys came in this morning excited to put their helmets back on. The point for each player is to make sure we’re two percent better every day. We’ll be much better after April 13 if we can reach that point."

Now, under the Colzie regime, FAMU will experience some changes.

The roster has some new faces but also returns many from last season’s Celebration Bowl championship team.

One key returner is offensive lineman Jalen Goss, whose 2023 season was cut short by injuries. Goss, a graduate student, got a medical redshirt to return to the Rattlers for his final college football season.

Goss said he’s back healthy. Including Goss, FAMU’s offensive line returns the most players out of the team’s position groups.

“I had to knock a little bit of rust off, but I’m happy to be back with the O-Line and in the system,” Goss said. “It’s time to hit the ground rolling. It’s pretty exciting.”

FAMU searching for competition and continuity during spring football

FAMU has some open positions on the field.

Of those includes a new starting quarterback to replace the graduated Jeremy Moussa, who earned a share of the 2023-2024 Deacon Jones Trophy.

Redshirt junior Junior Muratovic and Florida Atlantic grad transfer Daniel Richardson are jockeying for the position of the Rattlers’ QB1 vacancy.

Muratovic, who’s been at FAMU since 2021, says he spent his offseason building chemistry with the Rattlers’ wide receivers.

“Building timing and trust to get a good feel with them,” Muratovic reflected. “My goal is to keep executing as an offense and working together to build that same chemistry we had last year.”

Last season, FAMU’s ‘Dark Cloud Defense’ reemerged as one of the best in the nation as it finished second in total defense in the Football Championship Subdivision last season.

But the Rattler defense is now under new leadership as former defensive line coach Milton Patterson is now the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Patterson was promoted to replace Ryan Smith, who’s now Murray State’s defensive coordinator.

Patterson's move to oversee FAMU's the linebackers leaves a void for a full-time defensive line coach.

So, graduate student defensive lineman Gentle Hunt took the lead in directing some of Tuesday’s drills.

“I’m one of the oldest guys now,” said Hunt, a 2023 All-Southwestern Athletic Conference Second Team selection. "I’m taking these guys underneath my wing and getting off to the standard that needs to be set.

"This first day was about getting everybody in the swing of things and understanding our culture.”

As spring begins, FAMU football wants everyone to know 'We're still here'

Don't write off the Rattlers because they’re under new leadership.

FAMU is taking it a day at a time, but the team’s eyes remain on the prize ― repeating as SWAC and Black College Football National Champions.

“The expectations don’t change because I’m the head coach,” Colzie said. “We got a lot of good players who were on the team last year. We’re getting ready to hopefully hoist the Celebration Bowl trophy again at the end of the season.”

As Goss returns from injury, he looks forward to being integral in FAMU’s quest to remain on HBCU football’s mountaintop.

And he has one message for those striking out the Rattlers for the 2024 season.

“I want people to remember that we’re still here,” Goss said. “It’s time to repeat. We aren’t changing for nothing.”

Florida A&M Rattlers Spring 2024 Practice Schedule

Practice 2: Thursday, March 7

Practice 3: Friday, March 8

Practice 4: Tuesday, March 19

Practice 5: Thursday, March 21

Practice 6: Friday, March 22

Practice 7: Tuesday, March 26

Practice 8: Thursday, March 28

Practice 9: Friday, March 29

Practice 10: Tuesday, April 2

Practice 11: Thursday, April 4

Practice 12: Friday, April 5

Practice 13: Tuesday, April 9

Practice 14: Thursday, April 11

Orange and Green Spring Game at Bragg Memorial Stadium: Saturday, April 13 at 4 p.m.

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: Rattlers have 1st spring practice under new coach Colzie