​Florida A&M isn’t expected to be a major player in the Southwestern Athletic Conference or Black College Football during the 2026 season.In preseason polls and awards, the Rattlers have received little to no love as they enter their first season under new head coach Quinn Fordham Gray Sr.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Preseason is just that ― it’s preseason,” Gray told reporters on Wednesday, July 15, during the virtual SWAC Media Day Kickoff session.Quinn Fordham Gray Sr. hosted his first prospect camp as the Florida A&M Rattlers head football coach on FAMU’s campus on Saturday, June 6, 2026. Nearly 400 players participated and worked out in front of the FAMU Rattlers coaching staff.“Has everything to do with opinions and nothing to do with facts. So we don’t pay much attention to that. Predictions, preseason honors, and all that good stuff really don’t matter.”Released on Wednesday, FAMU was picked to finish fourth in the SWAC East out of six teams and received the eighth-most votes among the league’s 12 members from a panel of head coaches and sports information directors.In the inaugural media and coach-voted Division I Black College Football Poll, the Rattlers were voted in the 10th and final spot in the slate of SWAC and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams, as well as more HBCU teams that participate in other conferences.1 / 13Florida A&M Rattlers quarterback Armond Parker warms up for the ‘Friday Night Strike’ Orange and Green Spring Football Game on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida, Friday, April 3, 2026.(Gerald Thomas, III // Tallahassee Democrat, USA TODAY Co.)Player-wise, FAMU was the lone team without any All-SWAC preseason first or second-team selections.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Rattlers have an overhauled roster, and the SWAC doesn’t include transfers in the preseason player accolades. However, some argue that running back Jamal Hailey and FAMU’s media day player representative, edge rusher Antonio Camon Jr., may have had a case to make either team.Florida A&M Rattlers running back Jamal Hailey (28) works his way around a defender. The Florida A&M Rattlers hosted the Jackson State Tigers at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025.Gray feels the preseason omissions and bottom-tier rankings could provide an added chip on his team’s shoulder when the 2026 regular season kicks off on Aug. 29 with the Rattlers hosting Albany State on Ken Riley Field at Bragg Memorial Stadium.“It gives you intrinsic motivation as it relates to our players,” Gray explained. “You have some good guys who played some good football at the university last year. I would hope maybe sometimes that they feel slighted. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to put the work in.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Orange and Green return from a 5-7 season in 2025, their first losing season since 2017. FAMU then moved on from head coach J