TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Dec. 1) – Nine Florida A&M University Rattler football players have ben named to the
2016 All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Team announced by the league office late last week.
@ Jacques Bryant, the 6-0, 180 senior free safety from Tallahassee, Florida, was named to the All-meac First Team, after he led the Rattlers in tackles for the second straight year, finishing the season with 71 takedowns (51 solos), with four pass interceptions for 127 yards in returns, to go with seven pass breakups.
He was the FAMU Florida Blue Florida Classic MVP on Nov. 19, when he finished with an interception and fumble return, along with five tackles against Bethune-Cookman.
@ Earning Second Team notices were senior guard Keonte Cash (Miami, Florida), who was named All-MEAC for the third time in his career, and defensive end Elijah Price (Jacksonville, Florida), who finished with 15.5 tackles for loss, ranking among the MEAC leaders in that category. Price also had 2.5 quarterback sacks and 34 total tackles in 2016.
@ On the Third Team from FAMU were junior wide out Brandon Norwood (Atlanta, Georgia), who finished with a team-high 51 catches for 458 yards and four TD receptions; senior DL Curtis Alexander (Quincy, Florida), a Preseason First Team pick, who moved from end to tackle, finishing with 42 tackles (25 solos), with 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 quarterback sacks; sophomore cornerback Orlando McKinley (Atlanta, Georgia), who had 38 tackles (26 solos), four interceptions for 108 yards, including a record-setting 100-yard TD return against Delaware State.
Also in this group were senior punter Colby Blanton (Jacksonville, Florida) finished his final season averaging 41.1 yards per punt (59 attempts). He also made eight of 10 field goals (long of 39 yards), and was a near-perfect 13 of 14 on point after tries; freshman strong safety Terry Jefferson (Miami, Florida), who had four interceptions for 99 yards, finishing second overall in tackles with 48 takedowns (27 solos), and 4.5 tackles for loss; junior return specialist Kareem Smith (Haines City, Florida), averaged 20.7 yards per kickoff return and 14.8 yards per punt return.
Rattlers Finish 5th In MEAC
FAMU (4-7, 4-4 MEAC) finished in a tie for fifth in the final MEAC Football standings in 2016, three spots higher than they were predicted to finish.
The Rattlers, which won four of their final seven games after an 0-4 start, were forecast by the league's coaches and sports information directors to finish in eighth place in 2016.
FAMU In Third in FCS Home Attendance, #1 in MEAC
The NCAA Division I FCS Statistics through Nov. 27, list Florida A&M at #3 in average home attendance for the 2016 season.
FAMU drew 78,839 fans to Bragg Stadium for four dates, a total which was 11th nationally in total home attendance, but the per-game average of 19,710 was 3rd, surpassed only by Montana (25,377) and James Madison (21,646).
Among Historicially Black Colleges and Universities in FCS, FAMU was #1 in average home attendance at 19,710, followed by perennial leader Jackson (Miss.) State at 19,660, good for fourth nationally.
The Rattlers also led the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in both total and average home attendance.
North Carolina A&T (72,360 in five games) was third among HBCUs with a per-game average of 14,472, while Alcorn (Miss.) State was fourth among the HBCUs with a 14,342 per-game average.
Those four schools – FAMU, Jackson State, North Carolina A&T and Alcorn State – were the only HBCUs listed in the NCAA FCS Attendance Top 20.
