TALLAHASSEE, FL–Florida A&M head football coach Quinn Gray Sr. has a deep appreciation for the traditions surrounding the FAMU program.
After the team spent two years practicing inside Bragg Memorial Stadium, one of Gray’s first requests as head coach was for the university to restore FAMU’s traditional grass practice fields. The fields were quickly brought back into use, and the Rattlers have practiced there since the beginning of spring camp.
“Playing in Bragg is a privilege,” Gray said. “You don’t just get to go play and practice in Bragg, you have to earn that right. It’s special and you must go through something to be allowed to touch that surface.”
Gray developed that appreciation during his playing career at FAMU in the early 2000s, when he rewrote virtually every major passing record in the program’s history.
Now leading his alma mater, Gray rewarded the Rattlers with a night under the lights at Bragg for their first scrimmage of fall camp.
When asked which position group made the greatest impression, Gray pointed to the wide receivers coached by Ron Dugans.
“Our receivers made some plays today that we hadn’t necessarily made in the first couple of practices. To see the growth from day one to the scrimmage out here with the lights on tells us that we can depend on them when the lights come on,” Gray said.
Quarterback Isaiah Knowles, who helped Gray capture the 2025 Division II HBCU national championship, appeared poised and prepared to take on the challenges of playing at the Football Championship Subdivision level.
“It was definitely fun being able to get out here and play in Bragg Memorial,” Knowles said. “We’ve been over on the grass field, and being able to come over here under the lights, too, was pretty fun. We know the talent we have on both sides of the ball. Defense made good plays, offense made good plays.”
With Knowles directing the offense, Florida A&M scored on its first two possessions. Defensive coordinator Ryan Smith responded by introducing several new fronts that disrupted the offense and helped produce multiple takeaways.
From there, the offense and defense traded momentum throughout the remainder of the scrimmage—exactly the type of competitive balance Gray wanted to see at this stage of camp.
“You don’t ever want it to be one-sided,” Gray said. “Typically when it comes down to this early in camp, defense has the upper hand. But, when you have a guy like Isaiah who’s in the system and having a quarterback with that experience, it gives you a little bit of a different situation as far as the edge on whichever side of the ball.”
The approximately 60-minute scrimmage featured an atmosphere similar to what the Rattlers will experience when they open the season against Albany State on Aug. 29. Saturday’s scrimmage began at 6 p.m., just one hour earlier than the scheduled 7 p.m. kickoff for the season opener.
