As Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. calls it, the “hats and panties” have added some extra armor.
On Tuesday, March 3, the new Florida A&M head football coach held his third spring practice at the on-campus practice fields.
FAMU equipped its shoulder pads in its practice uniform, providing an opportunity for the Rattler teammates to get physical in the young spring season.
“Good to see who could do what when those pads go on,” Gray told the Tallahassee Democrat after practice.
As Gray previously mentioned in the opening week of spring training camp, it’s a challenge to learn a football team’s makeup during the acclimatization period, which means helmets and shorts.
“It gives us a chance to see who’s going to do what,” he explained. “When you put pads on, that’s typically the proverbial when the lights go on. You’re able to really evaluate what those guys can do in those situations.”
It’s a big week of spring football on The Highest of Seven Hills.
Alongside putting on the pads, the Orange and Green will have their first of three practice scrimmages on Saturday, March 7.
It’ll give the new FAMU head coach his first layered look at the infrastructure and talent of his inaugural team as a collective.
So, the lights are bright, for sure.
“Quite a bit,” Gray said when asked how much he expects to learn about his team in week two of spring.
“You’re learning who can pick up the offense and defense, who can apply what they learned in the classroom to the practice field, and how guys interact and respond in different situations. It’s about finding out who those guys are and making sure we’re putting them in the right situations to be successful.”
How much will FAMU football’s scrimmage matter for depth chart decisions?
FAMU isn’t getting too ahead of itself.
Saturday’s scrimmage will have little to no bearing on the depth chart as the season is still five months away, with the opening kickoff scheduled for Aug. 29 versus Albany State, Gray’s former team.
That’s because FAMU has 10 more spring practices after Saturday, including the aforementioned three scrimmages leading up to Friday, April 3’s Orange and Green Game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
“I don’t think it has a direct reflection on our depth chart,” Gray said. “The full spring season is really what we’re going to be able to evaluate because sometimes you don’t have your best day in scrimmage one. It’s about the consistency of building and stacking days and putting them all together.”
As much of an evaluation process as it is for the FAMU players, it’s also one for the Rattlers coaching staff.
Situational football and player placement will be paramount to how smoothly Saturday’s scrimmage runs.
“We can’t necessarily put a determining factor on anything at the end of week two or five practices,” Gray said. “But we can continue to evaluate our guys and allow them to put their best foot forward every day. We got to continue to coach them up and see if those plays can be made when they’re there for them to make.”
Florida A&M football 2026 schedule
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time national award-winning reporter for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.
Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU football’s Quinn Gray expects to learn ‘quite a bit’ in spring’s week two
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
