Seminoles eager to surprise skeptics after 2018 struggles
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – FSU coach Willie Taggart, wide receiver Tamorrion Terry and defensive tackle Marvin Wilson set the tone for this upcoming season during the ACC Kickoff.
While some may think Taggart is in the hot seat after a year that was memorable for all the wrong reasons, his players are rallying behind him.
“He’s a great coach. He always been like a dad to me. Ever since he came here, he believed in me,” Terry said. “Ever since he came to Florida State, he just believed in me. He always told me to stay focused, work on your craft, whatever you have going on on and off the field. Just be yourself. That’s what I am right now.”
Terry also showed support for another heavily criticized FSU group after the Seminoles’ 5-7 finish last season — the offensive line.
“I can say they put in so much work this offseason. They came a long way,” he said. “All they needed was a leader of that group. They are showing everybody what they can do, how they just carry their selves. They’ve been working hard, they stay on the field. They are always out there working; they’re always doing drills, everybody grinding, everybody buying into what we have going on. I just feel like this is going to be a great season for us.”
Defensively, Wilson said to look for the Seminoles to shut down their opponents’ passing game while cutting down on the penalties that plagued the unit, particularly the secondary, last year.
“Florida State overall this year, in the pass, look for our DBs to get after it this year. A lot of people like to try our DBs, talking about they weren’t playing up to par last year,” he said. “I think Stanford [Samuel], Hamsah [Nasirildeen], a lot of guys that are returning, they took that very personal,” he said. “They’ve been working their butts off this whole season. I couldn’t be more proud as a leader on this team that guys that I came in with, and some of the younger guys like Akeem Dent, a couple of others came in early, working their butts off to improve.
“This is really a DBU, and we are going to defend that this year. Last year a lot of people tried us on that last year. That’s OK. I’ve been watching them work their butts off.”
While he has stepped into a leadership role, Wilson said he’s not alone.
“I’ve been getting in the film room with Robert Cooper, Cory Durden, JaMarcus Chatman, some of the other guys on the defensive line,” he said. “They like to give me a lot of the credit for being one of the leaders on the D-line, but we got a great D-line besides me. I got some great teammates that we’ve been getting in, working late nights indoor, trying to grind to get better. So all phases.”
The Seminoles are switching from their 4-3 defensive scheme to a 3-4. Taggart said it’s not a dramatic change, but one the coaching staff feels best utilizes the Seminoles’ talent.
“I don’t think we’re changing a lot from what we did last year,” he said. “We worked on some things in the spring, seeing what was good for our team, how we can continue to get better, how we can continue to put our players in the best position to make plays. I think going through the ACC this year, understanding our conference better, we’re just finding ways to put our players in the best position to be successful on the defensive side of the ball. I think you’re still going to see our guys playing an even front, though.”