It has been an eventful summer for Florida A&M coach Willie Simmons and finally, the time has come to focus on football.
After Simmons suspended team activities due to the filming of an unauthorized music video in the Bragg Memorial Stadium locker room, the team has returned to workouts, and after being picked to win the SWAC East, the stakes have been raised.
“Our team is locked in and focused on the upcoming season,” Simmons said of his Rattlers, currently on a nine-game winning streak dating back to 2022. “We’ll see the true edition of this 2023 team when we report on August 2, and I’m excited to see what that looks like.”
Simmons believes that the recent suspension of activities will provide a chance for team leaders to step up and for the group to meet and exceed the expectations of the program.
“Every opportunity is a chance to educate our young men. That’s what we do as coaches and administrators,” he said. “Whether it’s a huge event that garners national attention or a small event that no one sees, it’s a chance to teach and a chance to learn. The challenge to our guys is them being open and receiving the message.”
And no better time than now to receive the message as the Rattlers will be tested out of the gate with the Orange Blossom Classic versus Jackson State in Miami on Sunday, Sept. 3. Simmons is aware that the OBC will have major title implications, so he plans to have his team ready.
“It’s been the deciding game the last two years, so we know what’s at stake,” he said. “Our preparation this first week is going to be paramount. We’ve assessed everything from how we practice heading down to Miami to even what we eat. We may even change the menu up to make sure we’re more prepared mentally and physically.”
To that end, Simmons believes that winning the OBC will be the key to not only the SWAC East but the conference title and a trip to Atlanta for the Celebration Bowl against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion.
“We have to figure out a way to start the season the way that we end the season,” he says. “If you look at our record, we’ve always ended the season on a long winning streak. As we get into the season, I think the guys get more comfortable, so the challenge for us as a coaching staff is to get them comfortable at the start of the season so we can start fast and finish fast.”
