Miami native and grad transfer Daniel Richardson has been named the starting quarterback for Florida A&M in their well-anticipated matchup for the 2024 Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge the opening game this Saturday. As reported by the Tallahassee democrat, the grad-transfer beat out Junior Muratovic for the starting role.

Coach James Colzie broke the news on his podcast Monday.

“We decided today that we are going to go with Daniel Richardson as our starting quarterback.” Colzie stated, “with that being said the job is not done yet, we are going to make a plan to play junior.”

He continued, “You never know what's going to happen, it’s important for us to have both of them ready. The guys got a lot of experience at the Division I level, the only thing he lacks is the height but aside from that, I wanted a guy who was gonna take care of the football.”

Quarterbacks Coach Henry Burris spoke with the Rattler Media about the ramped-up quarterback battle and what they were looking for in a signal-caller for this season.

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“Mental toughness is key. You've got to stand tall in the pocket when chaos is all around you when you're getting hit, taunted, and tested. But it's also about leadership, on and off the field. Our quarterback has to embody the vision of a championship team and be the example for others.”

Formerly a quarterback at Florida Atlantic University, Richardson played in 11 out of 12 games, completing 208 passes out of 322 attempts, resulting in a 64% completion rate. He threw for 2,001 yards, averaging 181.9 yards last season.

Richardson earned the AAC Offensive Player of the Week title for his win against the University of South Florida. It was his first 300+ yard game for the Owls, leading them to a 56-14 victory over the Bulls. Richardson completed 31 of 38 pass attempts for a total of 382 yards, achieving an 81% completion rate.

At Central Michigan, he played in 32 games for the Chippewas and started at quarterback for 23 of them. He passed for more than 5,000 yards and 43 touchdowns, with a 58% completion rate (434 completions out of 736 attempts). He averaged 166.8 passing yards per game, 7.3 yards per completion, and rushed for two touchdowns before graduating in 2022.

Richardson emerged as the top quarterback from the battlefield, but the aim to defend their SWAC championship title will present challenges as they move towards their first season without Willie Simmons.