As spring practice continues, the Florida A&M football team hopes to again become Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champions. This time, they want to drop the co.
The Rattlers had a record of 8-3 and was involved in a three-way tie for MEAC championship with Bethune-Cookman and South Caroline State.
Willie Ferrell is a returning linebacker and wants to repeat as a MEAC champion.
“I feel that since our defense is coming back we should be on the same page. We will pick up where we left off, with our intensity and our offense picking up will be fine,” Ferrell said. “We should win and dominate our schedule.”
The Rattlers lost key players last season and look to rebuild in those positions.
“We have a lot of veteran players here that will help the new players out and teach them the defense as fast as possible,” Ferrell said.
In the second week of spring practice, head coach Joe Taylor said he was happy with the play he has seen.
“Were coming along fine, we are satisfied with the way we are practicing with our leadership and experience,” Taylor said. “Offensively we haven’t been turning the ball over. On defense, we’ve been flying around and we don’t mind hitting. We are very pleased with the way things are going now,” Taylor said.
Taylor also acknowledged the change in culture with the team as he enters hs fourth year.
“The experience we have here is great going into the fourth year of the program. There is no resistance: they understand that hard work is the easiest way to success.”
The annual spring game on Saturday will give the coaches a chance to evaluate the progress of this season’s training.
“The team has worked hard in phase one of training by waking up at 5:45 a.m. doing the conditioning along with the biometrics,” Taylor said. “The team is working really hard.”
Cornerback Terry Johnson said a lot of that hard work will pay off on the defensive end.
“Our team starts on defense. Defense wins games and we have to get turnovers,” Johnson said. “We expect good things coming from our offense and defense. We have a lot of returning players and we expect big things from them this season.”
Spring football will conclude on April 14, and the Rattlers will start their regular season on September 2.