There’s lots of excitement and anticipation for the FAMU spring game this Saturday. And many of the fans can’t wait to see the former safety who’s been moved to quarterback, Mack Green.
When Green was awarded an athletic scholarship to play at Florida A&M University in 2016, he was supposed to play cornerback. He was later moved to safety.
But under the new coaching staff of head coach Willie Simmons, the Atlanta native thought it was time to request a position change to where his heart always belonged on the field: quarterback.
Green, a second-year journalism major, loved playing defense because he enjoyed the contact and the intense atmosphere. On the other hand, he had playing quarterback since he was 9 all the way up to his senior year in high school.
“My passion on the field is to be a quarterback. I love the thrill of touching the ball on every single play. I believe that I’m a natural born leader so the quarterback position fits me best,” Green said.
When Green was awarded the position change he knew he had a lot to prove because there are other talented quarterbacks on the roster.
“Many people were trying to convince me that I wasn’t fit to be a quarterback on this team. But I turned those words into motivation, every night I practiced even more just throwing the ball, exercising, and studying the playbook. You have to work hard to get to the top,” he said.
Wide receiver Patrick Thomas loves playing next to his new quarterback.
“You can tell Mack is focused right now because he’s trying to prove to the coaching staff that he is actually a better quarterback than he is a safety,” Thomas said. “He makes smart decisions with the ball and throws crisp efficient passes to us so we can make the best catch with the ball.”
Green said his dad is his motivation. His dad was his football coach growing up and he taught him everything he knows about the game.
He is also very appreciative of his former coaches in high school: Kevin Pope, Ron Veal and Keiran Goodrich.
“These men helped mold me to the man I am today, they taught me more than just football, they taught me how to survive in this world. They make up team Mack,” he said.
Offensive coordinator Alex Jackson also is ready to see how Green will perform during the spring game on Saturday.
“Mack brings a lot of energy to the offense and when he’s on the field you can see how the offensive lineman start blocking harder and the receivers run better routes so they can try to get open. It’s good signs like this that show the coaches that the team is starting to act like one. But it starts at the quarterback position.”
Green is confident that the offense will have a good game on Saturday. He says that he’s not nervous at all.
“I plan on coming out with energy and I am going to relax and just allow the game to come to me. I know that the offense will have a good spring game on Saturday,” Green said. “We’ve got many starters returning back to the offense. I think that we will look uniform and we’re going to play with a lot of excitement. Expect to see a show.”