Florida A&M isn’t expected to be a major player in the Southwestern Athletic Conference or Black College Football during the 2026 season.
Preseason polls and awards have shown the Rattlers little to no love as they enter their first season under new head coach Quinn Fordham Gray Sr.
“Preseason is just that ― it’s preseason,” Gray told reporters on Wednesday, July 15, during the SWAC Football Media Day Kickoff virtual session.
“Has everything to do with opinions and nothing to do with facts. So we don’t pay much attention to that. Predictions, preseason honors, and all that good stuff really don’t matter.”
Released on Wednesday, FAMU was picked to finish fourth in the SWAC East out of six teams and received the eighth-most votes among the league’s 12 members from a panel of head coaches and sports information directors.
In the inaugural media and coach-voted Division I Black College Football Poll, the Rattlers were voted in the 10th and final spot in the slate of SWAC and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams, as well as more HBCU teams that participate in other conferences.
Player-wise, FAMU was the lone team without any All-SWAC preseason first or second-team selections.
The Rattlers have an overhauled roster, and the SWAC doesn’t include transfers in the preseason player accolades. However, some argue that running back Jamal Hailey and FAMU’s media day player representative, edge rusher Antonio Camon Jr., may have had a case to make either team.
Gray feels the preseason omissions and bottom-tier rankings could provide an added chip on his team’s shoulder when the 2026 regular season kicks off on Aug. 29 with the Rattlers hosting Albany State on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
“It gives you intrinsic motivation as it relates to our players,” Gray explained. “You have some good guys who played some good football at the university last year. I would hope maybe sometimes that they feel slighted. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to put the work in.”
The Orange and Green return from a 5-7 season in 2025, their first losing season since 2017. FAMU then moved on from head coach James Colzie III after two seasons and hired Gray, a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Rattlers, from his three-year head coaching job at Albany State.
The dismal season and a first-year head coach are definitely playing a role in the lack of external belief in FAMU. So, Gray knows his inaugural team must perform well to regain respect in the SWAC and nationally in HBCU football.
“It wasn’t a tremendous football season last year, so you’ve got to earn everything that you can get,” Gray said. “We’re looking forward to our guys going out each week and performing and earning whatever it is that we’re able to obtain throughout the season.”
Florida A&M football 2026 schedule
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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: Why FAMU football’s Quinn Gray isn’t worried about preseason snubs
Reporting by Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Gerald Thomas III, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
