The offense that defined Quinn Fordham Gray Sr.’s college football career is making a return on The Highest of Seven Hills, says the newly hired Florida A&M head coach.
On the Southwestern Athletic Conference Football Media Day Kickoff broadcast on Wednesday, July 15, Gray announced that his inaugural Rattler team will run an offense similar to the program’s signature Gulf Coast Offense.
“Our offense will have a little bit of the Gulf Coast. It’s a two-minute drill for 60 minutes,” the FAMU head coach said in Birmingham, Alabama. “We’re going to play fast football, attempt to be physical, and we’re going to be smart. That’s the most important thing in situational football.”
The fast-paced no-huddle spread offense was implemented at FAMU in 1994 under Hall of Fame head coach Billy Joe, whom Gray added that he visited while the team was in Birmingham for media day. Gray orchestrated the offense as the Rattlers’ record-setting starting quarterback from 1997 to 2001 before a six-year career in the National Football League.
The offense uses four or five receivers and relies heavily on the quarterback to call plays quickly, tiring opposing defenses and keeping them on their toes. FAMU often posted 50-plus-point performances with Joe as head coach.
Gray was able to translate that on-field success under Joe into his three-year tenure as head coach at NCAA Division II Albany State.
In 2025, the Golden Rams had the 36th-best scoring offense, averaging 33.1 points per game en route to winning the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and being named the Division II Black College Football National Champion.
A familiar face to Gray, quarterback Isaiah Knowles, will direct the FAMU offense after spending three seasons in Albany.
If they can recreate the magic they did in Royal Blue and Gold with the Orange and Green, FAMU’s returning touchdown cannon at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium may run out of ammunition.
“We’re hoping, talking about Isaiah ― that experience he has and the football that he’s played allows us to do some things early that we may not have been capable of if you had a quarterback that didn’t have the experience,” Gray said.
A pro-style quarterback, Knowles won back-to-back SIAC Offensive Player of the Year awards in 2024 and 2025 and passed for nearly 4,800 yards in the three years, along with 50 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. The graduate student also rushed for 11 touchdowns during his Division II career.
FAMU is Knowles’ third and final college football stop as he plays his last season. He previously had a brief Division I stint playing for the United States Naval Academy’s football team.
Transferring from Albany State to FAMU in January, Knowles has been learning the playbook, preparing for the SWAC’s speed, and readjusting to the abilities of Division I athletes.
“When I first got to FAMU and spring ball, I just realized that everything was kind of sped up,” Knowles explained. “I was once in the D1 territory, now being back ― I know there are better athletes there, and a lot of guys are a lot smarter as well. Just getting used to that. Everything’s been going great so far.”
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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: Quinn Gray to reintroduce Gulf Coast Offense flair to FAMU football
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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By Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
