Florida A&M faces its big SWAC roadblock in Jackson State at Orange Blossom Classic

The highly anticipated matchup between Florida A&M and Jackson State on Sunday in the Orange Blossom Classic is expected to be a telling battle between two programs who are both determined to prove a point this season.

JSU, now led by new head coach T.C. Taylor, is poised to maintain the program as a top contender in the Southwestern Athletic Conference following former coach Deion Sanders departure, while FAMU is determined to overcome its rival for the first time in four matchups.

JSU currently has a 12-7-2 advantage over FAMU in the all-time series.

But could 2023 be the year that the Rattlers are able to make a statement? Recent trends suggest FAMU’s biggest challenge in the past several seasons involve getting past SWAC East rival JSU.

In the past two seasons, FAMU has been 0-2 versus JSU, but 14-0 against everyone else in the SWAC — it ultimately would come up short in the Orange Blossom Classic in 2021 and 2022 against JSU, but would end up stacking wins the rest of the way through each season.

However, once Sanders relocated to his new abode in Colorado, bringing a number of players and coaches along with him, FAMU instantly rose to the top as the favorite to win the SWAC Eastern Division championship this year.

FAMU preparing for tough game

In an exclusive interview with the Miami Herald, FAMU head coach Willie Simmons said he is gearing up his team for an intense matchup against Taylor and JSU.

“Coach Taylor played at Jackson State,” Simmons said. “He was a decorated player there. [He was] one of the best receivers at the university, so he understands the culture there. He understands the history and tradition there. So he’ll have his guys ready to play. And they’ll be anxious to prove a point that they’re still a good football team without Coach Prime. I expect a great ball game and looking forward to getting out to Miami Gardens and trying to see if the third time’s the charm for us.”

Quarterback Jeremy Moussa will lead the offense in his second season donning green and orange. The 6-3, 225-pound graduate transfer from Vanderbilt guided the Rattlers to a 9-2 overall record and a 7-1 record in conference play last year.

Having completed 226 of 394 passes with 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, Moussa had a particularly strong season during the 2022 campaign. He was ranked 18th in the nation with 21 passing touchdowns and 22nd in the nation with 2,735 passing yards.

“I think every offensive team kind of centers around their quarterback, and we’re no different,” Simmons said. “Jeremy’s in his second year in the system, he’s the most familiar with what we do offensively. I’m looking forward to seeing the type of growth that he can have over a two-year period. He’s a leader, and I think all of those things are gonna come into play, not only in this game, but throughout the entire season.”

Moussa was recently named Preseason Offensive Player of the year. He was also named to the 2023 Preseason All-SWAC First Team along with FAMU defensive back Javan Morgan.

FAMU has an offense that includes 15 returning starters, bringing valuable experience, and six newcomers, adding fresh talent.

But the offense did lose wide receiver Xavier Smith, who was Moussa’s biggest target last season and was signed by the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent in April. In 2022, he caught 87 passes for 1,021 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The defense will also be without a key player; Kamari Stephens, who announced at the end of July that he would be transferring to Jacksonville State after reentering the transfer portal earlier that month. He led the team in sacks (10.0) and forced fumbles (four) last year.

However, Simmons said that losing good players isn’t as detrimental when you have good players returning.

“Whether it’s through graduation or through guys entering the portal, you never want to be in a situation where you’re short handed because you lost a good player,” Simmons said. “So I feel really good about the defense that we built this year. I think Coach Smith and his defensive staff is doing a phenomenal job of putting our guys in position to be successful and maximizing the talent level that we have. So even though you lose two really good defensive ends from last season, we still have some really good players returning that we feel are gonna give us the same level of play that we’ve had over the last couple of years.”

New era at JSU

JSU will enter a new era under Taylor who will begin his first season as a head coach in his career.

Taylor, a former quarterback and wide receiver for JSU, was promoted to head coach in December 2022, just before the Cricket Celebration Bowl, after serving as tight ends/receivers coach for JSU’s staff for the previous four seasons under Sanders.

Taylor told the Herald that Sanders taught him a lot about not just football, but life in general, and that he plans to maintain the winning culture that he created at JSU.

“I was around him for two seasons, so I learned a lot from him. Picked his mind a lot,” Taylor said. “You’re talking about a guy with great knowledge, one of the best players to ever play and a hell of a football coach. [He’s] a two-time SWAC champion and has done a great job with this program. So I just want to continue that as the head coach here and continue those winning ways and try to finish the deal and get a Celebration Bowl.”

Since Sanders left, the team has been in a rebuilding mode, adding more than 70 new players including former LSU linebacker Phillip Webb, former Virginia Tech quarterback Jason Brown, and former Oregon wide receiver Seven McGee.

“The chemistry has been great amongst them,” Taylor said. “A lot of new faces, but they’ve done a great job of coming together as a group and going out there and executing on a day to day basis. So I’m excited about all the new faces. We’ve got some guys that’ve been around for the last couple of years as well that we’re expecting a lot of also on this football team. So I’m excited about it. I think we’ve got a good mixture of kids. Our depth is pretty good and they understand the mission.”

Outside of players, many new coaches were brought in as well. Taylor hired new offensive coordinator Maurice Harris, defensive coordinator Jonathan Bradley, and many other position coaches. Otis Riddley, who was promoted to assistant head coach and tight ends coach, and Brandon Morton, running backs coach, were the only two returning coaches aside from Taylor.

Taylor feels like all eyes are on him as people all over the nation will be tuning in this season to see what Jackson State is going to be like post-Coach Prime.

The race to the SWAC title game begins on Sep. 3 against his rival, which is a matchup that will ultimately determine who rises to the top in the end.

“I’ve known FAMU Coach Simmons for a long time,” Taylor said. “ I think he’s a great football coach. He has a great staff over there. I feel great about the staff that I’ve assembled here at Jackson State. Great players on both sides. Two elite recruiting classes. So it’s gonna be a site to see. But we all know the winner of that game the last couple of years has represented the East division in the SWAC championship game, so we’re gonna have to bring our A game.”