TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –– Florida A&M Athletics had three people recognized in the 2024 HBCU Sports Awards for their success last season as former head football coach Willie Simmons, head golf coach Mike Rice, and associate AD for communications & digital strategies Josh Padilla were winners of their categories.

Willie Simmons | Football Coach of the Year
Simmons led the Rattlers to one of their most historic seasons in program history, leading the Rattlers to a 12-1 record, their first SWAC Championship, and their first Celebration Bowl Championship. The 12-1 record matches the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA (FCS) National Championship team for the most wins in a season. Also, the Rattlers possessed one of the best defenses in the nation, ranking in the top 25 in 12 categories. 
 
Defensive Rankings
• 24th - turnovers gained
• 12th - passing yards allowed
• 11th - passes intercepted
• 10th - red zone defense
• 6th - rushing defense
• 6th – sacks
• 4th - defensive touchdowns
• 2nd - pass efficiency defense
• 2nd - scoring defense
• 2nd - 3rd down defense
• 2nd - total defense
• 1st - tackles for loss
 
The Rattlers also ranked top-30 in other statistical categories, including first down defense (29th), kick return defense (27th), time of possession (24th), first down offense (22nd), passing yards per completion (21st), sacks allowed (18th), and punt returns (17th).

Simmons also led the Rattlers to have a league-high 13 All-SWAC members and the SWAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in quarterback Jeremy Moussa and linebacker Isaiah Major. 

Mike Rice | Golf Coach of the Year

Rice led the Rattlers to winning the 2024 PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship to win the program's second HBCU National Championship. The Rattlers dominated at the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship, finishing all three days in first place, and won the event by 29 strokes with a score of +27 891. The Rattlers were led by Marcus Taylor (+2, 218), who was this year's medalist, giving the Rattlers nine medalists in PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship history. The Rattlers also had the number two individual finish as Patrick Mwendapole finished (+7, 223) and another top-five finish from Taylor Bell (+10, 226).

Rice also led the Rattlers to two more first-place finishes, winning the SAS HBCU Invitational and the ARCIS HBCU Championship. The Rattlers also had six top-five finishes. 

Josh Padilla | Sports Information Director of the Year

Padilla spearheaded the launch of Rattlers+, the department's first digital network that aired home football, volleyball, baseball, and softball as well as original content such as the football miniseries Our Time: Road to the Orange Blossom, Rattler Vlogs, Rattler Classics, Rattlers Mic'd Up, and much more. The department also launched its first athletics app, which saw over 10,000 downloads in its first six months. From a traditional sports information side, Padilla nominated eight SWAC individual award winners: Jeremy Moussa (football offensive player of the year), Isaiah Major (football defensive player of the year), Brooke Hudson (volleyball libero of the year), Ahriahna Grizzle (women's basketball player of the year), Zoryana Hughes (softball co-freshman and pitcher of the year), Samantha Smith (softball newcomer of the year), and Caleb Granger (baseball pitcher of the year), 58 All-SWAC honors including league-highs in football, softball, and baseball, and 75 player of the weeks. We also created unique coach introductory pages to announce the new football and men's basketball coaches. Padilla also successfully nominated three Coach of the Year winners: Willie Simmons (football), Camise Patterson (softball), and Jamey Shouppe (baseball).

From a digital standpoint, the department had another great year as the @FAMUAthletics Instagram page saw over one million interactions (59th in the nation), outperforming Power 4 schools such as Florida, Louisville, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Stanford, and more, according to CrowdTangle. The department has produced videos with over 16 million views on Instagram alone. Furthermore, the department has worked with AT&T and Nike on content and hosted NCAA Volleyball on campus to collaborate on content for their social media channels. We also streamed the majority of home events for the first time in department history, as football, volleyball, baseball, softball, and tennis were streamed on either Rattlers+ or YouTube.

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