Vaughn R. Wilson
Florida A&M held their annual Pro Day on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium with 18 NFL scouts and one Canadian Football League scout. Among those in attendance was Los Angeles Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce and Washington Commanders General Manager Martin Mayhew.
Coach James Colzie III was experiencing his first Pro Day as head coach of the Rattlers and was excited about what the day meant. “We have some great players and we have a great product that these folks are coming to see. Believe it or not, we’ve had a lot of phone calls from other schools trying to get their players to come to our Pro Day,” Colzie said. It’s a true testament to our team, a testament to what the guys have brought and a testament to the players coach Simmons has brought in over the years and hopefully we can continue to give our guys the opportunity to show what they’ve done and what they can do at the next level.”
Decked in custom orange workout gear as designed by FAMU equipment manager Don Reed designed for the day, the players were relaxed with a moderate crowd of about 150 onlookers. Current FAMU players were on hand to root on their teammates and get a glimpse of what it looks like to be evaluated for the highest level of football.
It was no secret that the scouts had some direct evaluations designated for FAMU Pro Day. It was first to see up close the speed of Eric Smith and Marcus Riley, the arm of Jeremy Moussa and the agility of Isaiah Major. The real job of a scout at Pro Days is to find the diamonds in the rough. All players got equal time to show their skills to the contingent of scouts at the venue.
Smith blazed to a 4.38 time in the 40-yard dash, while Riley was in the 4.4 range. Riley, a native of Tallahassee who had a journey during his college career, with FAMU being the third school he played for, is glad he landed on FAMU’s campus. “From high school I went to Louisville. It didn’t go good there, when the coach was let go, I took a detour down the street to the school south of here (B-CU) that we don’t mention. I had to graduate there in order to be able to play here. With the covid year I was able to get my final year here at FAMU. I’m comfortable with my performance. It was another day of work it wasn’t really that hard.”
Defensive backs had solid reps during their sessions as well as the linemen. The various scouts took turns guiding different drills. Former University of Miami running backs were roaming the football field in different capacities. In fact, between the Hurricanes and Seminoles, there was some banter. Former University of Miami running back Melvin Bratton, who is now an agent and represents Markquese Bell among his athletes, was badgering Mayhew, who competed against him as a defensive back for Florida State. “Tell Mayhew it’s me and him one-on-one,’ Bratton said that drew thunderous laughter. Another former Um running back Alonzo Highsmith, who scouts for the Seattle Seahawks was also evaluating during Pro Day.
After all the agility, lifting, measuring and running, all attention turned to Moussa. After a warmup session, the spotlight was on his ability to make passes and show his mobility. He was precise and threw crisp spirals. Several scouts could be heard whispering to one another and writing as he threw, making all passes a quarterback would be required to make.
Simmons had a hand in preparing Moussa for the moment. This season, he took several snaps under center. While most snaps in college are from the shotgun position, the higher level quarterbacks who intend to pursue the next level often go under center. In 2022, several of the top teams in the NFL took from 75-90 percent of snaps from under center. It reduces center-quarterback exchange issues, while setting up the running game from a better viewpoint.
Clozie is excited about the success the national championship has brought the program. “We’ve reached the mecca last year. With some of the guys we have returning and some of the guys we’re recruiting to bring in to Florida A&M, it just shows that we’re going in the right direction. Not just the football aspect, but academically. We have a great product and a great system here and hopefully this is not just alone or two year deal and we can continue for the next few,” Colzie said.
The opportunity to pursue the next level of football was not lost on Riley, who catapulted the Rattlers’ 2023 season with a thrilling 96-yard kickoff return for touchdown on the initial kickoff in the Denny’s Orange Blossom Classic. Pro Day was a full circle moment for the local product. “It’s special. That’s basically all we’re doing it for is the hometown. That’s all we were playing for this year every game we were just saying let’s do it for the city. That’s what we wanted to do…do it for the orange and green.”
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