FAMU set to end 700+-day offseason against Jackson State in Orange Blossom Classic

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - It’s not every year you have an offseason of over 700 days, but that’s exactly what Florida A&M’s football program has endured but there is an end in sight as the Rattlers will play their first game as a member of the SWAC this Sunday in the Orange Blossom Classic.

The South Florida showdown has already been hyped by some as the HBCU game of the year, with arguably Black college football’s biggest name in FAMU going up against its new biggest lightning rod in Deion Sanders and his Jackson State Tigers.

But, FAMU head coach Willie Simmons doesn’t want his team all aboard the hype train. He hopes his squad can block out the noise and stay in its lane.

“Our biggest focus at this point is to one, control the controlables, which is how we approach every single day. How do we approach class? How do we approach weights? How do we approach practice and meetings and all the things we have to do this week to prepare ourselves for Sunday at 3 p.m.?” Simmons said. “We can’t really think about Sunday if we’re not thinking about what’s going on today.”

The Rattlers and Tigers will kick off on Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

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