As always, expectations surround Florida A&M football this season.
From the diehard Rattler fanatics, to the players that are preparing for the year, to the coaches who are drawing up the game plans.
And for good reason.
FAMU is producing a strong offseason that includes recruiting new talent, retaining important pieces, and remaining committed to reach new heights for when the season begins in Miami Gardens at the 2023 Orange Blossom Classic against the defending Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Champions Jackson State on Sunday, Sept. 3.
Here are three BOLD predictions for the Rattlers upcoming season.
FAMU Quarterback Jeremy Moussa will prove to be the best player in the SWAC
Last year, we watched a well-traveled Jeremy Moussa adapt to a new environment while concurrently becoming a first-time NCAA Division I starter.
And he successfully did so, earning All-SWAC Second Team honors by quarterbacking the Rattlers to a 9-2 record in his first year with the team after stints with Hawaii, Vanderbilt, and junior college San Bernardino Valley.
Moussa finished 2022 completing 57 percent of his passes for 2,732 passing yards, 22 total touchdowns, and ten interceptions.
Moussa can make that next big progression as he plays his final college football season and second year with FAMU.
He enters the new season as arguably the best returning quarterback with former JSU quarterback and reigning SWAC Player of the Year Shedeur Sanders transferring to FBS, Pac-12 member Colorado.
Moussa will likely be named the SWAC’s Preseason First-Team quarterback.
But he will have to build on that to keep fully claim that title when the postseason awards are released in November.
A SWAC Player of the Year, All-SWAC First Team, and possibly an All-American season is on the horizon for Moussa before he rides off into the sunset.
But it’s not going to be easy for Moussa as he adjusts to a new-look receiving core to fill the void of the graduated Xavier Smith, who is now with the Los Angeles Rams.
FAMU’s 2023 Dark Cloud Defense will be the best its ever been
Those recent Dark Cloud Defenses that featured former FAMU standouts Markquese Bell and Isaiah Land will forever live in Rattler lure.
A season ago, FAMU allowed 19.7 points per game in nine FCS games. In 2021, the Rattlers allowed 15.9 in ten FCS contests.
The FAMU Rattlers’ 2023 Dark Cloud Defense will not allow more than two touchdowns per game.
Just look at the depth and the stardom on each line of defense ― Kamari Stephens (defensive lineman), Isaiah Major (linebacker), Kendall Bohler (cornerback), Javan Morgan (safety).
Stephens put up an All-American performance in 2022, leading FAMU with ten sacks. Major led the entire squad with 83 tackles. Bohler will likely have a breakout season and earn his first all-conference nod. Morgan, a hometown kid and Florida High alum, has been the man since stepping foot on campus back in 2019.
And you can’t forget about the headhunting safety-turned-linebacker Jordan Moore, who is hungry to play after missing the entirety of 2022.
FAMU will win the SWAC to reach its first-ever HBCU Celebration Bowl
A conference title and a HBCU Celebration Bowl victory, let alone appearance eludes FAMU and Willie Simmons-led teams.
The Rattlers’ season will not end until Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023 inside of the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Simmons and FAMU will kill two birds with one stone and win the SWAC Championship to reach the program’s first HBCU Celebration Bowl ― AND WIN IT ALL.
Simmons has restored the Rattlers winning ways since arriving in 2018, leading the program to four consecutive winning seasons (2020 season cancelled/COVID), and even a FCS at-large postseason appearance in 2021.
Getting to that championship-level has come with its share of adversity for FAMU.
And for rival schools, they can hold that over the Rattlers’ and Simmons head for now.
But it will be Orange and Green skies when the confetti is falling on FAMU as the team that claims the 2023 HBCU National Championship.
Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@gannett.com or on Twitter @3peatgee.
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