How FAMU football's Quinn Gray can make a splash in NCAA Transfer Portal

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How FAMU football's Quinn Gray can make a splash in NCAA Transfer Portal

The NCAA Transfer Portal has opened for business.

The entry window for Division I players began on Friday, Jan. 2, and will close two weeks later on Jan. 16.

Talent jumping in the portal means that it’s officially time for new Florida A&M head football coach Quinn Gray Sr. to sift through talent to tailor his inaugural team how he sees fit.

The only acceptable direction is up for FAMU football, which hired Gray away from Albany State last December to succeed former FAMU head coach James Colzie III after he went 12-12 in two seasons, including a 5-7 season in 2025, the program’s first losing record since 2017.

Let’s discuss how Gray can tackle the transfer portal as he starts his retooling and rebuilding of FAMU football.

FAMU football must get a bonafide starting QB. Perhaps, Isaiah Knowles?

Florida A&M Rattlers defensive back Corey Collier Jr. (10) tackles an opponent. The Florida A&M Rattlers defeated the Albany State Golden Rams during the first home game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025.

Amidst Colzie’s dismissal, RJ Johnson III entered the transfer portal after starting 11 games for the Rattlers during the 2025 season.

That means Gray will be seeking a new signal caller.

And if anyone knows how to evaluate a good trigger man, it’s Gray, a FAMU Sports and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame quarterback and former six-year veteran in the National Football League, primarily with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Gray may not have to look far to bring a quarterback to Tallahassee.

Isaiah Knowles, who starred for Gray’s Albany State Golden Rams last season, is in the transfer portal after winning back-to-back Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year awards. The Tampa native received an offer from the Rattlers on Dec. 8, the same day Colzie was relieved of his duties and two weeks before Gray’s FAMU hire went official.

Knowles, a graduate student, threw for 2,151 passing yards and scored 26 times, 18 passing, eight rushing, for the 12-2 Golden Rams while guiding the squad to a SIAC title, the Division II quarterfinals, and a Black College Football National Championship.

FAMU football coach Quinn Gray tasked to replace star offensive linemen

FAMU’s most significant player losses came on the offensive line.

Charles Davis and Ashton Grable have both graduated and are pursuing careers in the NFL. Both will participate in February’s HBCU Legacy Bowl in New Orleans.

Building the trenches is paramount, regardless of who’s quarterbacking the offense or getting the football handed to them.

Protecting the quarterback, like Gray was in his FAMU heyday, and building a potent rushing attack could be vital to the Rattlers’ rapid rise in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Celebration Bowl picture in their coach’s first year.

And for what it’s worth, Albany State’s All-SIAC first team offensive lineman Leon Wesley III is in the transfer portal.

FAMU football can recreate magic of dominant defense, starting with defensive line

Raise your hand if you knew Albany State was 2025’s No. 1 total defense for all of Division II.

Let’s rattle off some more stats.

First in third down defense, second in turnovers gained, fourth in run defense, sixth in tackles for loss, and 17th in sacks.

Albany State Golden Rams head coach Quinn Gray Sr. watches from the sidelines as his team plays in an NCAA Division II football game at the Albany State Coliseum in Albany, Georgia.

A dominant defense starts with the front line pressuring quarterbacks and stopping the run. FAMU didn’t have that during Colzie’s tenure.

There hasn’t been much movement announced for those key defensive linemen from Albany State who are looking to transfer, but those impressive numbers may allow Gray to leverage some talent to come to FAMU.

Notably, Christopher Cash, a former NFL player, announced on social media that he will step down as Albany State’s defensive coordinator on Wednesday, December 31, 2025.

A stout defensive line, paired with a possible addition of Cash to Gray’s FAMU staff, could lead to the reemergence of the Rattlers’ famed ‘Dark Cloud Defense.’

Gerald Thomas, III is a multi-time award-winning journalist for his coverage of the Florida A&M Rattlers at the Tallahassee Democrat.

Follow his award-winning coverage on RattlerNews.com and contact him via email at GDThomas@Tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida A&M football transfer portal: Quinn Gray must get a QB, more

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