How FAMU football began forging identity in first full-pad practice

The first day of full pads typically sets the boys apart from the men.

It also offers coaches a glimpse of who will be the headhunters on their football team.

Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. can attest. The head coach’s Florida A&M team had its first day in full gear at training camp on Wednesday, Aug. 5.

“It’s one of the days you look forward to because it’s a chance to get some good eval,” Gray told the Tallahassee Democrat after the Rattlers’ fifth training camp practice. “Obviously, it’s the first day, so you don’t want to overdo it. But it’s a necessary evil to make sure that you put your team together in a way that represents what your core values are.”