Starting QB still undecided after FAMU’s spring game
Photo by St. Clair Murraine
By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook Staff Writer
Never mind what was seen on Ken Riley Field inside Bragg Stadium during FAMU first spring football game under James Colzie III.
The first-year head coach is still undecided about the team’s starting quarterback in the midst of adjusting to the challenge of building a team that could repeat as the HBCU national champion.
Last year’s team dominated the SWAC, winning the East Division, the conference title and then going on to capture the Celebration Bowl for the national title.
On Saturday, Junior Muratovic and Daniel Richardson put their talent on display, leading a parade of quarterbacks that included four others. The green team walked off the field with a 14-7 victory on an afternoon when Muratovic showed the most poise and control under center.
The Rattlers are looking to replace Jeremy Moussa at quarterback. Through 14 spring practices the competition has been between Muratovic and Richardson and it’s expected to continue when fall practices begin.
Colzie hedged on making the call about who seems to have the lead after the spring game.
“I thought Junior and Dan did a really, really good job in spring,” Colzie said after the game that featured mostly passes. “If we had to say who would be the starting quarterback on the first play of the game against Norfolk State (in the season opener) we would probably come out with two quarterbacks on the field.”
This was the second consecutive year that the green team won the spring game, although unlike last year’s drafted squads it was a matchup of offense against defense.
Muratovic, who spent the last three seasons as a backup, is looking to take over the starting position. Richardson, who received the best QB honor for spring practice during a halftime ceremony, is in his first season as a transfer from Florida Atlantic.
It was obvious on several occasions that Richardson is still grasping the system, while Muratovic showed the experience of having played in six games last season, starting in one.
After two plays that went nowhere, he hit Jamari Gassett with a 12-yard pass. That turned out to be the first sign that it could be the day that he outshined the five other quarterbacks.
In addition to Richardson, the others were Alston Hooker, who started under center with mostly second-string players, Trey Fisher, Noah Ross, and DJ Boney .
Muratovic came on after just over four minutes into the game. He made his second appearance after Richardson threw his first of three interceptions to Andre Powell Jr.
Muratovic came on and immediately threw a 28-yard pass – his longest of the game up to that point. His next pass was a 25 yarder to Ja’Cory Jordan, and then he completed the drive with a 15-yard pass to tight end Koby Gross.
Powell had two the three interceptions off Richardson. The lone defensive score came on Jordan Cumberbatch interception of a Noah Ross pass that he took back 30 yards for the pick-six. Ah’Mare Lee and Gabriel Nance had the other interceptions.
The game culminated a 24-hour period that stated with players receiving conference championship rings last Friday night, and a breakfast with Colzie on Saturday morning that was attended by honorary coaches Rudy Hubbard and Allen Bogan.
With the spring game in the rearview mirror, Colzie turns his attention to adding personnel to the roster. He was optimistic about making some finds in the NCAA transfer portal, which opened Monday.
His need is mostly on defense, but he won’t grab the first players to call on FAMU, he said.
“If we are chaotic then it becomes a chaotic process,” Colzie said. “We don’t want that. We have certain ideas of what we want our guys to look like and the way we want them to play. So we are kind of honed in on what we really, really want. Once we get them to Tallahassee the job is done.”
