Quinn Gray speaks on Florida A&M rebuild with Paul Finebaum

New Florida A&M head coach Quinn Gray joined the Tuesday edition of the Paul Finebaum Show to speak about his first season with his alma mater. New Florida A&M head coach Quinn Gray joined the Tuesday edition of the Paul Finebaum show to speak about his first season with his alma mater.

Gray spoke about his desire to rebuild Florida A&M back to its championship-winning blue-blood pedigree.

“We have a rich tradition in winning, and the last couple years there’s been some not-so-good years. But at the end of the day, we’re not focusing on that. We’re focusing on making sure that we take this thing and move it in the right direction and make sure we get Florida A&M football back on the map where it rightfully belongs.”

He also understands that the rebuilding process is expedited because of the standards of the program.

“I think, for us, it’s sort of expedited because of the time. We’ve only been here since January, and we’ve got to put this thing together here before August 29th. But at the end of the day, I think we’re headed down the right path.”

Gray has a roster that includes returning players from Florida A&M who played during James Colzie III’s tenure, as well as players who transferred from Albany State to Florida A&M after playing under Gray. He discussed how he manages relationships with the players who are familiar with his coaching style, as well as those who are new to it.

“We’ve got some players here that have been here that are mixed in with some guys that played for us at Albany State last year that understand what it looks like to play in this culture and play for us as coaches. So, I think we’re on our way to getting these guys on track to do what it is that we want to do this season.”

He also told Finebaum that he emphasizes teaching his players the history of Florida A&M and also re-emphasizing the standard that he wants to set for the program.

“When I first got here back in January, I made it a point to make sure that our student-athletes understood who those people that have built the foundation for us to stand on are. Every meeting that we had as it relates to spring ball, we had a history lesson in terms of past players and past coaches that helped build the foundation that is Florida A&M University.”

He added, “Understanding what the standard is as it relates to getting our guys ready to play and making sure that we’re putting our guys in the best situation to be successful is what it’s truly all about. Because it’s always standards over feelings at the end of the day.”

Now Gray prepares for a tough opening schedule as he faces his former team in Albany State to start the season, then matches up with South Carolina State and the Orange Blossom Classic before facing off against FBS national championship runner-up Miami.

“With the schedule we have, we’ve got a Division II HBCU national champion, we’ve got a Division I HBCU national champion, and we’ve got an FBS national championship runner-up in the first three weeks. So, for us, it’s about making sure that they understand what it’s going to take to win football games, getting back to winning and the attitude that it takes.”

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