Despite outside chatter from Week 1’s loss to Howard, Florida A&M football will not make a quarterback change.
In Tuesday, Sept. 2’s local media Zoom press conference, FAMU head coach James Colzie III said that RJ Johnson III will continue as the Rattlers’ (0-1) starting quarterback for their Week 2 road game versus the Florida Atlantic Owls (0-1).
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After winning a training camp quarterback battle, Johnson made his college football debut versus Howard in last Saturday’s Orange Blossom Classic.
Florida A&M Rattlers quarterback RJ Johnson III steps off the plane for the Orange Blossom Classic NCAA football game versus the Howard Bison. The FAMU football team arrived in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Thursday, Aug. 28, two days ahead of the Week 1 matchup.
The redshirt sophomore completed 17 of 32 pass attempts (53 percent) for 183 yards and got sacked three times. FAMU didn’t score a touchdown versus Howard.
Other quarterbacks on FAMU’s roster are Traven Green, Tyler Jefferson, Bryson Martin, and Jett Peddy.
Jefferson has starter experience at his former school, Central Michigan. Peddy was a junior college star at Long Beach City College. The others have minimal or no experience.
“It’ll be RJ Johnson,” Colzie said when asked what to expect at quarterback versus FAU.
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“I just think for us, when we made the decision who the starting quarterback was going to be, we wanted to make sure he took care of the football and ran the offense. I’ll tell you, he didn’t run it as well as we needed to if you look at how many points we scored. But when we made the decision of who the starting quarterback would be, we weren’t going to have a quicker trigger.”
Johnson had some off-target throws and missed open receivers at the Orange Blossom Classic, raising questions about the possibility of FAMU making a quarterback change.
“Thought he made some good, decent throws at the end,” Colzie assessed the quarterback. “You got a guy in his first game ― you miss a few things. For a guy like him, at that stage and playing in his first college game as a redshirt sophomore, you hit those guys, it would’ve done amazing things for his confidence. But didn’t hit them.”
However, Johnson did allow the Rattlers to open the season with a late-game win over Howard. The quarterback connected with wide receiver Jalen ‘Speedy’ Rogers for a 26-yard completion in FAMU’s final drive. It led to an 18-yard field goal by Daniel Porto for the Rattlers to take a 9-7 lead with 1:49 left in the game.
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“You get a guy later in the game who made a couple of big-time throws to put us in a position to win,” the FAMU coach explained.
Howard then marched downfield, allowing its kicker Matt Conord to drill a 43-yard field goal to clinch the victory over FAMU as time expired. The FAMU defense allowed Howard to post 195 total yards and a lone touchdown.
“No matter how good anybody played on Saturday, it wasn’t enough because we didn’t win,” Colzie said.
FAMU will face FAU on Boca Raton’s Howard Schnellenberger Field at Flagler Credit Union Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
FAU lost at Maryland 39-7 in Week 1.
Florida Atlantic University Head Football Coach Zach Kittley watches his players during morning practice in Boca Raton, Florida, on August 13, 2025.
The Rattlers aim to get their first victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision team since 1979, when they defeated the Miami Hurricanes 16-13 during the 1979 season.
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Florida A&M at Florida Atlantic
When: Saturday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.
Where: Howard Schnellenberger Field at Flagler Credit Union Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida
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: RJ Johnson III: FAMU football to keep QB as starter vs FAU Owls