Photo Courtesy of Austin Dixon
The Florida A&M University football team kicked off its spring practice in Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Head coach Willie Simmons and the rest of the coaching staff stressed how important their seven F’s were, as they progressed through workouts and drills.
“That’s our philosophy,” Simmons said. “If we neglect any one of them, it’s going to have a direct impact on how successful we are, so that’s been the staple of this program since day one.”
Much of the talk has been surrounding who would be replacing Ryan Stanley for the upcoming season. Although, fans have been paying close attention to RaSean Mckay and Kansas State University transfer John Holcombe. Simmons noted that it was true competition.
“It’s a battle to see who will be the next quarterback and take the first snap of the season,” said Simmons.” “We got four or five guys competing for it right now. It’s going to be interesting to see which one of those guys separates themselves throughout spring practice, this summer, and even in the training camp this fall.”
Simmons is looking forward to seeing the players compete and retain information day to day.
As one of the newest players, Holcombe talked about practicing with his new teammates
“I feel like I should be able to get better with my reads, just knowing the playbook overall,” said Holcombe.
Holcombe believes he’s adapting pretty well getting to know the players as well as the coaching staff. Focusing on the overall growth of the team, he emphasized that he was not focused on just himself.
“There’s still a lot of plays in the playbook that I have no idea what they are,” explained Holcombe. “Just trying to overall improve myself for the team.”
With the new additions to the team, are also key returning players such as Bishop Bonnett who suffered a knee injury last year. Bonnett felt great about the first spring practice.
“I feel as a team we came out with high energy and lots of enthusiasm,” Bonnett said. “Today was a great success.”
Along with reading and making the right decisions of his keys, Bonnett expressed his personal goal for the season.
“I finally gotta get over a thousand yards this season,” said Bonnett.
The Rattlers were victorious last season as they went 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference. Hoping to continue their success, the team will be eligible for postseason play for the 2020-21 year.
With 14 practices left, the Rattlers will hold their anticipated Orange and Green Game on Saturday March 28 at Bragg Memorial Stadium.