Taggart able to step in and rescue ’18 class
Coach took his time, kept relationships and some staff.
After soaring up to No. 6 at one point on national signing day, Florida State’s 2018 signing class settled in at No. 10 by Thursday morning.
It was an impressive stretch run under any circumstances, with five commitments coming Wednesday and six in the final few days. The finish was particularly impressive, considering the situation left by Jimbo Fisher’s staff.
When Willie Taggart took over in early December, the class had plummeted from the top 10 down into the 70s nationally. Seven top prospects decommitted almost overnight, and the NCAA’s new early signing period was looming in just two weeks. Not only that, but FSU’s assistant coaches had done very little recruiting for weeks, as rumors swirled about Fisher’s future with the program.
So, how did Taggart salvage the Class of 2018 and give FSU much-needed momentum heading into the next recruiting cycle? Here are the key moves:
Getting time back on his side: While most other college football programs were pushing to land as many signees as they could during December’s early signing period, Taggart had to take a much different approach.
Yes, he wanted FSU’s committed players to sign. But an equally large priority was convincing other top prospects not to sign anywhere until February. What that did was give him time to hire assistant coaches, put together a plan for selling FSU, and catch up on relationships that other schools had been building for years.
That approach was pivotal with prospects like Malcolm Lamar, Tre’Shaun Harrison, Camren McDonald and others.
Capitalizing on existing relationships: Taggart and his former Oregon assistant coaches, of course, did this with the players who were previously committed to the Ducks like Malcolm Lamar, Warren Thompson, Isaiah Bolden and Tre’Shaun Harrison. But the Seminoles also took advantage of other connections as well.
New offensive line coach Greg Frey had offered Valdosta, Ga., lineman Jalen Goss when Frey was still at Michigan. So once Frey moved to Tallahassee, Goss jumped at the chance to play for him and stay close to home.
A key to flipping Ohio linebacker Xavier Peters from his Kentucky commitment was the previous relationship he had with new defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett and defensive ends coach Mark Snyder. They had previously recruited him at Michigan State.
Not cleaning house completely: By keeping some key support staff members — including director of player personnel Bob LaCivita and director of player development Mario Edwards — the new coaches were able to tap into some information and resources that otherwise might have been lost. Edwards primarily provided insight into the current players, while LaCivita offered a wealth of information about FSU’s previous recruiting efforts.