Taggart says he isn’t worried about drop in attendance
“… I guarantee you they were watching, so they’re all, they’re all there somehow, some way, they were there. Probably not in there in our, in front of us, but they were watching and we appreciate them, too.”
TALLAHASSEE — Fans attending Florida State’s spring football game Saturday had plenty of room to spread out.
The Garnet and Gold game drew an announced crowd of 27,901 at Doak Campbell Stadium. It was a huge dip from last year’s announced crowd of 60,934.
The Seminoles are coming off a season during which they recorded a losing record and missed a bowl game for the first time in 37 years.
While the attendance number may be alarming to some, FSU coach Willie Taggart said it’s not his primary concern.
“We just, we know [we’ve] just got to keep getting better and make sure we go out and perform the way we need to,” he said. “We appreciate everyone that came out there today and wanted to go out and show them the improvement that we have made. And again, we’re excited about the ones that were out there and [we’re] sure the ones that wasn’t there, they were watching somehow.
“… I guarantee you they were watching, so they’re all, they’re all there somehow, some way, they were there. Probably not in there in our, in front of us, but they were watching and we appreciate them, too.”
Though the fan base may be uneasy based on last year’s results, the players have said they are focused on this year’s goals.
“We didn’t really stress too much on the past. We just put the past in the past. It’s a new year and we were ready to work. We just came ready to work. We came out, everybody’s bought in,” FSU receiver DJ Matthews said.
Quarterback James Blackman and the Gold team defeated the Garnet team 27-21. Blackman and Garnet quarterback Jordan Travis combined for 656 passing yards.
On social media, one of fans’ biggest gripes was with the offensive line. Center Baveon Johnson said the O-line is hungry and ready to change the perception.
Blackman said offensive linemen showed they’ve already turned a corner.
“I got sacked one time and that was because of me holding the ball too long,” Blackman said. “Those guys stood tall and protected me well, put up a good wall so I could throw for 415 yards.”
Taggart said that same can be said for entire team.
“As a unit, there’s a lot of work to be done, but … I’m really excited [about] where we’re at,” he said. “Where we’re going, it’s good to see some young guys go out and make some plays. It was good to see us throw the ball around a little bit and see some guys make plays.” the the