Clear improvement for FAMU Football following second scrimmage of fall camp

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) - The Rattlers are just two weeks away from their Week Zero contest against North Carolina. In a day full of rain, FAMU Football brought the sunshine on Saturday during its second scrimmage of fall camp.

Willie Simmons said the coaching staff would throw anything and everything at the guys on Saturday. Everything was fair game. He thought his guys responded well to the challenge.

“I thought the guys competed. I thought the defense started really, really fast. They had a lot of three and outs, high intensity plays, and tackles for loss like they’ve been doing for the last few seasons. It was good to see them continue to do that,” Simmons said, “Offensively--obviously they started slow. It took them a while to get going, but once they got going, they made some big plays and that shows the big play capabilities of the group. It was good to see them finally settle down and make some plays, but now it’s about consistency.”

Simmons without question saw improvement from his offense from the first scrimmage to this one. They cut way down on pre-snap penalties, and the wide receivers and running backs were making plays. Namely, a 30 yard touchdown completion from Vanderbilt quarterback transfer Jeremy Moussa to standout wide receiver Xavier Smith.

The defense, though, still stands out. There is no doubt about that. Eric Smith had an interception return for a touchdown--the second such play for this defense in as many scrimmages.

Simmons says the talent on this team is evident. It’s now time to put it all together. Now that the Rattlers are done with scrimmages during fall camp, it’s time to slowly turn their attention to Week Zero.

“The focus now is really trying to solidify who that travel squad will be and getting those guys prepared. We’ll have a few more days of training camp, so to speak, but our focus will slowly start to shift to North Carolina,” Simmons concluded, “We have to start cutting back on the good on good work and start breaking off into scout teams as we try to figure out what our game plan will be going into Week Zero. It’s been a good training camp. We have to get guys back from injuries, but once we’re able to get a healthy team back together, I think we’ll have the chance to be pretty special.”