FSU Football: Where Willie Taggart ranks among first year coaches
By Nate Collins
No. 6 – Joe Morehead, Mississippi State (8-5) Lost to Iowa in the Outback Bowl
Morehead arrived at Starkville, to find a team loaded with talent, and the Bulldogs won eight games. The problem? The team was stacked with upperclassman, including star QB Nick Fitzgerald, who led the team in passing and rushing. Ten starters were seniors and junior defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons declared for the draft.
That is a lot of talent to replace. Morehead is an offensive genius, revamping Penn State’s offense before taking over at Mississippi State, which had the nation’s top scoring offense this year. Now, he has to try to rebuild the roster. With the 27th and 19th ranked classes the last two years, he brings in 10 4-star players. Once the Bulldogs find a QB and put their team together, 2019 may start slow but they could reach seven or eight wins.
Florida State Seminoles Football
No. 5 – Jeremy Pruitt, Tennessee (5-7)
We all remember the mess that was the Volunteers’ coaching search. Getting Pruitt away from Nick Saban seems to be a good hire. Tennessee will return QB Jarrett Guarantano and top RB Ty Chandler, but the offense ranked 120th nationally.
However, Pruitt has been stockpiling talent with the last two classes. In 2018, he had the 21st ranked class and the 13th this year. This haul includes 15 4-star recruits, including Quavaris Crouch. The Volunteers also bring in five-star OL Wanya Morris and DT Aubrey Solomon, the 23rd best player in the 2018 class, who is transferring from Michigan. Tennessee benefits from playing in the much weaker SEC East. They should win seven or eight games, but look out in 2020.
No. 4 – Willie Taggart, Florida State (5-7)
Taggart came to Tallahassee with aa ton of hope and expectation for a high-powered offense. But, it was anything but high-powered, ranking 112th in points scored. There weren’t many bright spots and the team has a huge question mark at QB.
The Noles lost four-star commit Sam Howell and it looks like this year’s starter, Deondre Francois may transfer. FSU was able to bring in Louisville transfer Jordan Travis. With 2017 starter James Blackman returning and new OC Kendal Briles coming from Houston, the offense should be better.
Taggart’s 2018 recruiting class brought in some needed talent and many from the class played significant time. The current 2019 class ranks 11th and Taggart got to keep top recruit Akeem Dent. This past season was rough but Taggart is trying to build a new culture. Expect Harlon Barnett to put together a good defense, but the offense has to keep them off the field. If the OL can be rebuilt and perform at just an average level, expect the Noles to win eight games.