FAMU enters 2026 trying to rebound from a 5-7 season that fell well short of the program’s recent championship standard.
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The Rattlers finished 4-4 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play in 2025, just two seasons removed from winning the Celebration Bowl and a Black college football national championship.
New coach Quinn Gray Sr., a former FAMU and Fort Lauderdale Dillard High star, has a roster with dreams of rejoining the SWAC championship conversation.
Offensively is where FAMU is going to strike the most.
Starting quarterback RJ Johnson III returns as one of the most important pieces of the offense.
Johnson completed 65% of his passes last season (215 for 331) for 2,597 yards, 18 touchdowns and four interceptions.
And Johnson isn’t the only returning offensive player.
Running back Thad Franklin Jr. rushed for 838 yards and seven touchdowns on 166 carries, averaging 5 yards per attempt. Jamal Hailey added 516 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 6.1 yards per carry, giving the Rattlers the possibility of pairing a deep backfield with an established passing game.
FAMU also returns leading receiver Kenari Wilcher, who caught 40 passes for 588 yards and four touchdowns last season.
Wilcher averaged 14.7 yards per reception, providing a downfield threat for an offense that also brings back several other experienced targets, including Jordan Edwards, Ace Cobb, Jalen Rogers and Victor Jones Jr.
The challenge is turning production into more victories.
FAMU showed flashes of greatness in 2025, but there were too many uneven performances that kept the Rattlers from putting together a winning season.
They opened with a 10-9 loss to Howard in the Orange Blossom Classic and followed with a 56-14 loss to Florida Atlantic. Later home losses to Alabama State, North Carolina Central and Jackson State further damaged FAMU’s chances of competing near the top of the SWAC.
But the Rattlers also showed another side.
In the second half of the year, FAMU looked like they were finally starting to click. The Rattlers beat Alcorn State 33-28, and won 43-35 at Southern. They also added road wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Alabama A&M. However, they suffered losses to Bethune-Cookman in the Florida Classic and Mississippi Valley State closing out the year. This gave them their first losing record since 2016 (excluding the 2020 COVID season).
One of the biggest factors for turning their program around will be their defense and a return to form of the “Dark Cloud Defense” that reached its peak in 2023 when FAMU was second in total defense in the FCS.
To help, Gray hired Ryan Lewis Sr. as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. From 2022-24, Lewis was the mastermind of Alabama State’s defenses that once rivaled the Rattlers atop the FCS and SWAC. In 2025, Lewis, a Pompano Beach native and former Bethune-Cookman football star, was the cornerbacks coach at the University of Alabama-Birmingham in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Linebacker Jason Riles returns after leading the Rattlers with 77 tackles last season. Nay’Ron Jenkins recorded 62 tackles, while Brian Norris and Corey Collier Jr. each finished with 44.
The secondary also contains considerable experience. Chase Lloyd recorded two interceptions last year, while Ah’Mare Lee finished with an interception and 12 passes defended.
Up front, Antonio Camon led FAMU with four sacks, while James Gardner Jr. and Latarie Kinsler were among several defensive linemen who generated pressure.
That returning experience should matter because FAMU won’t have much time to work through mistakes.
The Rattlers open Aug. 29 at Bragg Memorial Stadium against Albany State before traveling to Miami Gardens for the Orange Blossom Classic against South Carolina State on Sept. 6.
Four days later comes Miami.
Bethune-Cookman awaits Nov. 21 in Orlando. The Wildcats’ 38-34 victory last season ended FAMU’s recent control of the Florida Classic and helped send the Rattlers toward their 5-7 finish.
For FAMU, getting back isn’t simply about revenge against Bethune-Cookman.
It’s about rediscovering the consistency expected of the program.
FAMU schedule
Aug. 29: vs. Albany State, 7 p.m.
Sept. 6: vs. South Carolina State, 3 p.m. (Orange Blossom Classic, Miami Gardens)
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Sept. 10: at Miami, 8 p.m.
Sept. 19: vs. Tennessee State, 7 p.m.
*Sept. 26: vs. Alabama A&M, 7 p.m.
*Oct. 10: at Alabama State, 4 p.m.
*Oct. 17: at Jackson State, 3 p.m.
*Oct. 24: vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 3 p.m.
*Oct. 31: vs. Southern, 3 p.m.
*Nov. 7: at Alcorn State, 3 p.m.
*Nov. 14: vs. Mississippi Valley State, 3 p.m.
*Nov. 21: vs. Bethune-Cookman, 3:30 p.m. (Florida Classic, Orlando)
*Southwestern Athletic Conference game