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Willie Taggart: Strength and conditioning has made a world of difference

By Kelvin Hunt

2 Oct 1993: View of the Florida State Seminoles warming up before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Scott Halleran /Allsport
2 Oct 1993: View of the Florida State Seminoles warming up before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. Mandatory Credit: Scott Halleran /Allsport /
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Willie Taggart brought his own strength and conditioning coach from previous stops to help change the culture at FSU.

One of the things first noticed by FSU head coach Willie Taggart was the lack of strength and conditioning of most players upon his arrival in Tallahassee.

The previous regime seemed to have allowed things to get stale and accountability was lacking in this phase of the program among others.

Which everyone makes mistakes, but allowing the strength and conditioning coordinator to stay on staff after making a huge mistake in 2016 likely didn’t help the players respect what was said.

Accountability is a word that’s been burned into the minds of FSU players since Taggart’s arrival.

However, it’s not just a word, there are all types of procedures in place to ensure everyone is held accountable for what needs to transpire into bring FSU football back to elite status on the field.

Taggart spoke exclusively to ChopChat earlier this week on how strength and conditioning has been going:

"“All of the units have benefited the most, not just one group. Just talking with the guys, they say they are working harder and longer than they were before. We did a before and after picture from the spring and you see a world of difference. That part of it, from a confidence standpoint, is helping our team big time. You look at a guy like James Blackman who has put on about 20 pounds since last season – can’t tell, but he’s put it on. A guy like Marvin Wilson, who lost 30 pounds. So, guys are really working to get their bodies right and Coach O is doing a great job of challenging those guys in the weight room and getting the guys to hold each other accountable.”"

Thoughts

It’s normal for players to make statements like this regarding working harder and longer than they were before when a new staff is involved.

It’s kinda like when you break up with someone on bad terms and the new girlfriend/boyfriend is always hotter for some reason.

However, it’s clear these guys have been putting in work. We saw the pictures of Marvin Wilson and what’s even more impressive is he hasn’t gained a ton of weight back since injuring his MCL in spring camp.

Taggart has said James Blackman put on about eight pounds earlier this spring, so according to this he’s put on another 12 pounds since then.

A player with Blackman’s body type isn’t going to put weight on without putting that work in the weight room so that’s encouraging on a few fronts.

It means Blackman’s work ethic is what you’d hope for someone vying to win the starting quarterback job. Also, it means Coach Oderinde’s S&C program is legit since many fans are not familiar with his philosophies.

Next: Willie Taggart Happy With QB Progress for 2018

I can’t wait to see what type of physicality these players bring to the field in 2018. It’s been a long time since a FSU football team went out and dominated someone from a physicality stand point.

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