Rattlers kick off week No. 2 with mixed practice

The Florida A&M Rattlers began their second full week of practice with drills on the football practice fields.  The spirited practice saw an even number of solid plays from the offense as well as the defense.  Additionally, Head Coach Alex Wood used a variety of different players in different situations as game situations were simulated. 

Ryan Stanley started out red hot completing five consecutive passes on the opening drive of full team drills.  Vincent Jeffries also showed the ability to move the offense during the 11-on-11 segment.  Tahj Tolbert took snaps with a variety of personnel as the offense mixed units throughout practice.

Wood said the practices were designed to integrate personnel. 

“We script  our practices every day to get a mixture of our players reps.  We have a chance to evaluate all the players on film.  It gets the guys an equal amount of reps. We are coming along as of now, what we’re looking for now is consistency,” Wood said.

There were some solid defensive plays by the first unit, including standout performances by Calvin Darville and Terry Jefferson.  Darville is solid as a down lineman, while Jefferson emerged at the end of last season to become one of the defensive leaders.

“We definitely are ahead of where we were last year this time.  With the Spring session and our offseason Summer workouts, we’re in a good position.  We’re looking to sharpen up some things and get ready  to open the season,” Wood said.

The Rattlers open their season on Aug. 26 against the Tigers of Texas Southern University in Bragg Stadium.  The game is slated to be the first-ever Jake Gaither Classic.