TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Tallahassee native and ex-college and arena league quarterback Willie Simmons has returned to his hometown to take over the Florida A&M program.
Simmons, 37, has three years of experience as a head coach, going 21-11 at Prairie View A&M. However, his win total declined each year, from eight to seven to six in 2017.
In an interesting move as it relates to recruiting, Simmons hired legendary Miami prep coach Billy Rolle as his assistant head coach. Rolle won four state titles with three Miami schools — Northwestern, Killian and Southridge.
Simmons and his staff inherit an FAMU Rattlers team that finished 3-8 last season — eighth place in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – and hasn’t beaten rival Bethune-Cookman since 2010.
In addition, the Rattlers — picked to finish fifth this season in the MEAC — did not place a single player on the league’s preseason first team.
Ten Rattlers made the second or third team, but that was seen as a lack of respect by FAMU players.
“Seeing that they put me on third-team just adds fuel to my fire,” FAMU quarterback Ryan Stanley told reporters at the recent MEAC Media Day event in Norfolk, Virginia. “It motivates me harder.”
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