Willie Taggart pens emotional message ahead of FSU Football debut

Willie Taggart is set to begin his life long dream of being associated with the Seminoles when he leads the program against Virginia Tech on Monday.

In just a matter of days, the anticipation that has grown all spring and summer will finally come to a head when FSU football makes their debut under new head coach Willie Taggart – a Florida native who has been very vocal about his childhood dream to one day be a member of the Seminoles family.

While Taggart was not able to do that as a player while in high school in Bradenton – eventually going on to be a great Division 1-AA quarterback before he went into coaching – he now gets a chance to lead the whole program as just the 11th full time head coach all time for the Noles.

Since being named the leader of FSU Football last December, Willie Taggart has made sure to let everyone know how happy and honored he is to be in Tallahassee living his dream of finally being associated with the Seminoles.

Ahead of his first game as coach, Taggart wrote an article for The Players Tribune that should be required reading for anyone in garnet and gold – and anyone who might still be on the fence about whether or not he was the best hire for the Seminoles.

"When I got into coaching, the goal was to take it as far as a could and be the kind of mentor that I needed as a young man. The dream though? The dream was to coach at Florida State.My vision for this program isn’t complicated. The standard has already been set by those before me. When Florida State is where it’s supposed to be, everyone knows what to expect.We expect to be ranked in the Top 5. We expect to win the ACC. And we expect to win every game.Every single year."

Willie Taggart went on to talk about how the team has bonded more during his time in Tallahassee – how he openly shares his past of growing up in poverty while having players share their experiences as a way to learn from one another.

Another moment that caught the attention of FSU football nation was when Taggart, who had been at Oregon for just one season, was torn about leaving so quickly for Tallahassee until his 16-year-old son came in and told Taggart to chase his “dream job.”

The whole article is a must read ahead of Monday’s game – and it makes all of us proud that Willie Taggart is now the leader of the FSU football family.