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Florida A&M head football coach James Colzie III has a unique approach of expressing belief in the special teams unit.
To conclude the day, the Rattlers’ kickers and punters do field goals and punt yardage drills to decide how many gassers FAMU has.
The better they do, the less the team runs.
It’s a symbolic display of their importance to FAMU’s success.
“They determine our conditioning,” Colzie said after his team’s 10th spring football practice on Tuesday. “There’s nothing but the pressure of their teammates urging them to do what they should.
“We’re trying to put them in adverse and pressure situations.”
FAMU placekicker Cameron Gillis says the practice-closing drills are when the special teamers bond the most. With their backs against the wall and the team relying on them, the Rattlers’ kicking staff must rise to the occasion.
“There’s a lot of pressure on our shoulders,” said Gillis, a 2023 All-Southwestern Athletic Conference First Team selection. “We work so much together, and I have some amazing talent competing with me. We’re making sure we’re held to a very high standard.”
If FAMU special teams underperform at practice, causing more gassers, Rattlers players usually propose Colzie with a ‘double or nothing’ offer for punter Trey Wilhoit to punt. Colzie usually jokingly declines, knowing that there’s a possibility that his FAMU players may win the bet based on Wilhoit’s talent.
Florida A&M punter Trey Wilhoit booms a punt during the first spring football practice at Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium, Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
“I earned it last year. They’ve been rocking with me from day one,” said Wilhoit, who ranked fifth in Football Championship Subdivision punting average (44.23).
“We want to get to a spot where we don’t have to do double or…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/theres-lot-pressure-spring-football-161506008.html
Author : Tallahassee Democrat
Publish date : 2024-04-02 16:15:06
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