‘Tribe18’ vow to get Seminoles on track
Players eager to follow Taggart’s blueprint in sophomore season
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State coach Willie Taggart’s first recruiting class has embraced his message and is pushing to change the Seminoles’ culture.
FSU’s 2018 recruits say they are working to help Taggart rebuild the Seminoles into a championship program. The group is preparing for its sophomore year and the players say they are ready to lead the charge after a frustrating 5-7 season.
“We’re Tribe18, that’s what we call ourselves, so we’re excited about that,” defensive back Jaiden Lars-Woodbey said. “I feel like this class is going to have a lot to do with the outcome of this season this year.”
Defensive back Asante Samuel Jr. echoed that sentiment and said it’s a seed that Taggart planted in his recruiting class a season ago.
“He always used to say that last year,” Samuels said of the impact the 2018 recruiting class could make on the program. “We have to make it come to fruition this year.”
Taggart said after signing day he expected everyone in the program to come in with a renewed mindset. Making sure all players maintain high standards is the next step, and tight end Camren McDonald is up for the challenge.
“One thing I felt like he did well last year, was hold guys accountable,” McDonald said of
Taggart. “So if he plans on taking that to the next level, then he’s going to see a lot of improvement and a lot of growth out of a lot of guys.
“That’s one thing I feel like coach Taggart does better than any coach I’ve ever played for, and that’s hold guys accountable for what they said they were going to do and team expectations.”
This particular class finds itself in a unique situation. As freshmen, they were part of a team that missed playing in a bowl game for the first time in 36 years.
During the offseason, they saw their starting quarterback dismissed and will be working with a new offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and wide receivers coach.
Receiver Keyshawn Helton said being as young as they are has worked in their favor, noting that they haven’t had a chance to get used to anyone at this point. He added the players all have a similar outlook on the changes and everything seems to be falling into place.
“Everything happens for a reason. It’s really just getting with my teammates, getting with the coaches and learning more and more about them,” he said.
“The coaches coming in, all the new coaches, they’ve acclimated to the environment. All of them are very supportive of us, and it’s a family atmosphere around here. Everyone loves each other and I feel we’re heading in the right direction.”
Helton added he was pleasantly surprised by how close he and his teammates became. He said he feels that unity will be their biggest asset as they try to redeem themselves following last year’s disappointing season.
“[My first year] actually has surpassed my expectations,” he said. “Coming to college, I didn’t think it was going to be a family atmosphere like this. I thought people were going to be doing their own thing. Everyone’s a family and it’s amazing.”
While the Seminoles are limited to offseason conditioning and still waiting to hit the field for spring practice, Lars-Woodbey said the growing camaraderie is one of the biggest differences between this season and last.
“I’ve seen a lot. It’s just a lot of dudes that just want to play for each other. That’s amazing to see,” he said. “From last year to this year, it was like little groups that hung out with each other, but now it’s just like everybody hanging out with everybody. It’s a lot easier being with everybody. It’s not as tense as it was last year.
“I don’t want to speak about the past, but it was a lot of frustration in the locker room. I feel like when we were out there working with each other and grinding with each other, it got a lot of easier for us. Because it’s like, ‘Man, we all out here together and we all out here working with each other, so let’s get through it.’ ”