The MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff returns to Center Parc Stadium next month, and one of the coaches for the game, Norfolk State’s Dawson Odums, expressed his excitement for the prime-time opportunity.
“The biggest thing is that I don’t know if we really understand the magnitude of Saturday night,” Odums said Wednesday in a news conference at Center Parc Stadium. “… We’re playing Saturday night college football on ABC. Do you know how many schools would never receive this opportunity? To play college football on Saturday night on ABC … we can’t say thank you enough.”
When Florida A&M and Norfolk State meet at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 24, during college football’s Week Zero Saturday, Florida A&M will make a return to Atlanta as the reigning HBCU champion, having defeated Howard 30-26 in the Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in December to win that crown.
As his team pursues another championship, Rattlers coach James Colzie III cited the number of seniors playing for the Rattlers this season. FAMU lists 36 players as either seniors or graduate students with eligibility remaining.
“We have a lot of seniors that are part of our program, but we also brought a lot of graduate seniors as well,” said Colzie, who is entering his first season as Rattlers coach. “On paper we’ll be a very talented bunch, but I think it’s going to be important for the coaches throughout our training camp. We’ve been kind of instilling that stuff as far as the summer goes, but we’re going to have to have the ability to play together.”
He also said he knows his team will face stiff challenges this season.
“You have to understand, no matter who you play, you’re gonna get their best,” Colzie said. “The biggest thing I need our guys to understand is that we can’t have no surprises. We’re gonna face whoever we face week in and week out, and we know we are going to receive and have to play our best.”
After finishing with a 3-8 record last season, Norfolk State is focused on starting the season with a victory and building off that foundation to carry through the rest of the season.
The Spartans will make their first appearance in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kickoff. Odums sees the game as an opportunity for his team to showcase the hard work he thinks it has put in during the offseason.
“I think in order for you to become a really good football program, you got to go through some things,” Odums said. “Adversity is a part of it; our locker room, the cohesiveness of the individuals that are there are coming back, and they’ve experienced a lot of things. Losing is one of those things, and I really am looking forward to 2024 as this locker room is built on something great this year.”
Odums also said, “The biggest thing is addressing your needs, figuring out what you were weak at and improving on those weaknesses and making those your strengths.”
Both coaches talked about preparing a plan to help the players start the season strong.
“I think for us we will need to protect the football,” Colzie said. “That’s going to be the biggest thing anytime you got a new quarterback coming in or guy who hasn’t necessarily played under the lights, under the lights that we will be playing under on the stage of Aug. 24. We got to be able to protect the football and make very, very good decisions.”
Odums said, “If we can come out and just do those things on a consistent basis, eliminate big plays, don’t turn the football over, do the things that every coach is going to talk about a little bit better than your opponent, then you give yourself a chance to have a successful outcome in this football game.”
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