FSU Recruiting finds success in Tampa Bay after years on outside

FSU football was able to get nearly 20 percent of their class from the Tampa Bay area – somewhere they haven’t had that kind of success in a while.

When the history books are written about what FSU football has done in the recruiting world over the years, it will have many different chapters devoted to different areas of the Sunshine State. There has been success throughout the panhandle and Jacksonville, a moderate amount in the Orlando area and better success than most in South Florida even when the Miami Hurricanes were relevant.

One area that has always seemed to be a crap shoot has been the Tampa Bay area. Yes, over their history the Seminoles have been able to pick or choose a few players that have been successes – from Gary Huff to William Floyd to James Wilder Jr. and recently Auden Tate to name a few – but for the most part, the cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg have been off limits when it comes to an area the Seminoles can rely on.

However, if the 2018 signing class is any indication, that might be changing and FSU football may have just found a new recruiting hot spot.

Of the 21 recruits signed by head coach Willie Taggart this year, four are from the Tampa Bay area – including two players from a program at Seffner Armwood High School, a perennial state power, that had never sent a player to Florida State before. Those four players equal the number of recruits brought in from South Florida, Orlando and the panhandle combined.

It helps that Taggart spent four years as the head coach of the South Florida Bulls in Tampa, building relationships with high school coaches during that time that he will use in the coming years. Several members of that Bulls staff are now on the FSU staff – as is offensive line coach Greg Frey, a Clearwater native who recruited the area while at Indiana and Michigan.

"“Those guys Willie has brought on staff – there’s some bulldogs when it comes to recruiting,” said Largo High coach Marcus Paschal to the Tampa Bay Times. “They have really good relationships when it comes to coaches down here.”"

Next: FSU Football: Three takeaways from National Signing Day 2018

Being a native of the area (growing up less than 25 miles from Tampa) means Taggart is going to make the area one of his hot spots when it comes to getting recruits to Tallahassee. He has brought in assistants who will succeed in other parts as well, but the 813 and 727 are going to be special to the head Seminole.