Finally.
No more of the talk game and other non-football activities.
Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. had his long-awaited first spring practice as Florida A&M’s head football coach on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
The former Rattlers quarterback and newly hired head coach walked off FAMU’s grass practice field beaming in excitement of leading his alma mater’s football program.
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“It’s an exciting time,” Gray told the media on Tuesday.
“It’s been everything, except football, up until now. So, it’s an exciting time to get out here on the green grass, get a chance to see these guys move around, do some football stuff, put on the helmets, and throw the ball around a little bit.”
FAMU will have 14 spring training camp practices, including the Orange and Green Game on April 3.
Describing spring football as a “marathon,” Gray has set his goals by the time the Rattlers reach the finish line.
“We’re identifying who we are and creating that identity for our team,” he explained. “We’re in that early stage of finding out who we are and who every person is on this team. Once we do that, we can identify an identity.”
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FAMU football’s identity will be revealed once ‘the pads come on’
The Rattlers won’t know who they are until the pads come on and contact is implemented in the “next week or two,” Gray says.
The Florida A&M University Rattlers geared up and hit the field for the first spring practice of the season under head coach Quinn Gray on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
“Obviously, today being day one, guys are flying around a little bit,” he recapped the day.
Pads will separate the boys from the men and reveal whom the Rattlers can count on when the season opens against Gray’s former team, Albany State, on Aug. 29, six months from now.
“You really can’t tell what they really are until they get into some helmets and shoulder pads and are able to do some hitting. Running around here in hats and panties isn’t really football like that,” Gray said.
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“Once we get a good handle on these first few days of acclimatization, we’ll be able to find out who everybody is and whom we all got going into 2026.”
Quinn Gray not focusing on FAMU football’s depth chart in early days of spring practice
The Florida A&M University Rattlers geared up and hit the field for the first spring practice of the season under head coach Quinn Gray on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
The initial depth chart isn’t much of a concern right now.
FAMU has a month and a half to figure that out.
After Gray netted a hefty National Signing Day class, all position battles will be key.
One that Rattler fans and HBCU football followers will monitor is who the Rattlers’ starting quarterback will be.
FAMU lost last year’s starter, RJ Johnson III, and backup Jett Peddy to the NCAA Transfer Portal. Johnson is now at the University of Massachusetts, and Peddy transferred to Benedict College.
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Gray reupped on quarterbacks, such as Isaiah Knowles, his former quarterback at Albany State. Knowles was the 2024 and 2025 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
The Florida A&M University Rattlers geared up and hit the field for the first spring practice of the season under head coach Quinn Gray on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026.
Knowles practiced on Tuesday, alongside fellow new signees James Hayes from Alabama State and Armond Parker from Georgia’s Locust Grove High School.
“This week is just about getting our schemes in and making sure they understand the standard of practice,” Gray said of FAMU’s focus for spring’s onset. “We’re just trying to feel out each other and make sure we put our best foot forward.”
Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist 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 searching for Florida A&M football’s identity during spring
