ATLANTA — Clinging to a four-point lead and an HBCU national championship in sight, Florida A&M linebacker Isaiah Major knew what needed to happen for the orange, blue and white confetti to drape the FAMU green jerseys and white helmets when the scoreboard hit triple zeroes inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
FAMU, a program built to conquer adversity, once trailed 16-10 at halftime and went scoreless in the third quarter. However, it beat Howard University 30-26 to finish the season 12-1, due in part to Jeremy Moussa’s explosive three second-half touchdown passes that included two to Rattlers running back Kelvin Dean.
With Howard (6-6) needing a touchdown to win this year’s Celebration Bowl, Major witnessed a similar tale before this season. In September, the Rattlers’ linebacker delivered a 40-yard pick-six against Alabama State quarterback Damon Stewart, giving the FAMU a 23-10 victory at Bragg Memorial Stadium.
On Saturday, with 1:50 to play in regulation, the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year trusted his intuition to jump Howard quarterback Quinton Williams’ bubble-screen pass in the flat to running back Jarret Hunter. The result for the former Independence Community College standout was the biggest play of the game that “God” allowed him to capture along with a HBCU national title for the Rattlers.
“I knew he [Williams] was going to throw it, so I came back to it,” Major said after Saturday’s Celebration Bowl. “When it comes to screens, draws, quick outs… they [Bison offense] trying to move the ball fast. I went with my hunch and just made a play on the ball and God allowed me to come up with the interception.”
Major, who registered six tackles, one tackle for loss and the lone interception in Saturday’s win, finished the regular season with 100 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, a fumble recovery and a game-sealing interception against Howard. He also led FAMU in tackles (83) and tackles for loss (13.5) in the ’22 campaign.
Despite the hardship of trailing 14-0 in the first stanza and after two quarters, Majors never wavered in himself nor his teammates. All season, skeptics deemed FAMU a second half team other than its 28-10 win against Jackson State in the Orange Blossom Classic during Labor Day weekend.
In addition to slow starts and failing to win games in dominant fashion for majority of the season, Willie Simmons canceled football activities in July when a two-minute rap video consisting of explicit lyrics of Boston Richey’s song “Send A Blitz” was filmed in the Rattlers’ locker room.
Five months later, it doesn’t seem to matter as much.
“We had to handle adversity from day one in fall camp,” Major said. “We put in 28 [points at Jackson State] in the first half but the second half wasn’t our best. We’ve had lows in the season where we’ve had to fight back and make things happen.
“It was pretty easy… for us to get back to Rattler football [on Saturday] and get back to who we are.”
As Major hung the final curtain on his FAMU career, it was always about the Rattlers winning a title. He was never concerned solely about himself. “I don’t pray to be the best player on the field, I just pray for a win,” he says. Major’s selfless mindset was partially built based on his relationship with former FAMU standout and NFL’s Cowboys’ safety Markquese Bell, who played in the same JUCO conference as he did.
But no one is more critical to Major’s growth as a man than his mom, LaTrisha, who he considers his “biggest supporter and hero.” The 6’0”, 200-pound linebacker keeps a picture of her, one of his deceased best friends who died on New Year’s day and his grandparents in a Bible that his grandfather gave him when he died in ’17.
“She’s the definition of a soldier and why I am where I am in life,” Major said.
With a Celebration Bowl and national championship in a city that he never played in prior to Saturday’s clash of the MEAC-SWAC titans, Major is making his mom proud and living a dream.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Major said. “It’s my first time ever winning a national championship in my life. … It really don’t feel real at all…to walk away with something so precious is a blessing.”