FSU football: Accountability present several times through five games

FSU football has shown accountability on several occasions in 2019. It’s a great sign of progress moving forward with the culture change.

FSU football coach Willie Taggart used the word accountability a lot in the first few months after getting hired to lead the Noles.

He wanted his players to be accountable on and off the field. The results on the field in 2018 were less than desirable with a 5-7 record, but there was progress in the classroom as over 30 players had over a 3.0 GPA.

A few players who were bad apples either graduated or transferred elsewhere and the culture seemed to begin to shift in a positive direction prior to the 2019 season beginning.

Would it translate to more wins in 2019?

The Noles got off to the worst start possible, blowing a 3 touchdown lead against Boise State to lose in the opener. Then they proceeded to blow another 20 point lead in the following game and nearly lost to Louisiana-Monroe in overtime.

It was easy to question if the culture had really began to turn the corner. Frankly, it looked as those Willie Taggart had lost the players and the program.

After all, the team looked like they were just going through the motions at times while committing stupid penalties.

However, if we look closer we’ll see Taggart has held players accountable through five games beginning with senior starting defensive back Levonta Taylor who didn’t play against Louisiana-Monroe.

The following game saw junior starting slot receiver D.J. Matthews not make the road trip to play against Virginia.

We’ve seen senior starting linebacker Dontavious Jackson not start a game this season after lackluster play and committing some ridiculous penalties. There have been more and more young players taking reps from older players like Keith Gavin and Kyle Meyers.

Senior kicker Ricky Aguayo was benched in the NC State game after missing multiple field goals the last two games. Senior punter Logan Tyler has entered the transfer portal after walk-on Tommy Martin took his job when he was suspended indefinitely.

One of the biggest things a coach can take away is playing time. The good news? Each of these older players responded with elevated play when they returned to action the following game.

Levonta Taylor had a big interception against Virginia in his first game back. Matthews had a huge catch against Louisville that kept the eventual game winning drive alive to score a touchdown.

Jackson has played somewhat better in the last couple of games and has avoided costly penalties.

Keith Gavin has been a beast in the blocking game even though he’s not receiving a ton of passes when he’s in the game.

One of the biggest narratives coming off the win over NC State was players themselves talking about playing less hero ball. Players just playing their assignments and not worrying about who’s making the play.

This Cyrus Fagan interview after the NC State game was telling:

The fact Fagan said he told his teammates to just start running if they drop an interception in practice is the type of accountability needed.

It looks as though the players are finally beginning to police themselves somewhat and hold one another accountable.

Willie Taggart also showed accountability when he went out and hired Jim Leavitt as a defensive analyst in the middle of the week after the second game of the season.

The fact he was willing to do that showed he knew it was all on the line as the FSU football defense was not playing up to the standard expected.

That move is arguably the most important move of the season thus far. This program looks like it’s headed in the right direction, and it all starts with holding one another accountable.