FSU football: How much blame can be placed on Willie Taggart?
By Kelvin Hunt
Recruiting
Willie Taggart has shown he can recruit at a very high level. That hasn’t been more evident than having a top 10 ranked class prior to the 2019 season after finishing 5-7 in 2018.
This staff has shown they can evaluate fairly well and it’s telling a lot of younger players are getting playing time right now, especially on defense.
The only problem is these players are not being developed properly because of poor coaching. The biggest issue with recruiting has been the inability to secure difference makers in the trenches and at quarterback.
Now, I give Willie Taggart a pass for not bringing in a quarterback in the 2018 class. After all, he only had a month to make something happen after the previous staff quit recruiting.
He showed he had an eye for talent with getting Sam Howell to commit, but ultimately that recruitment went sideways for a number of reasons and the Noles failed to bring in a quarterback for the second straight recruiting cycle.
He did go out and get Alex Hornibrook as a graduate transfer who has helped them win two games this season. However, the staff failed to address needs on the offensive line in the graduate transfer/JUCO market.
They’ll be in the same position on the defensive side of the ball if Marvin Wilson and Cory Durden declare for the NFL Draft. If they miss on that side of the ball this recruiting cycle the defense is going to take another step back in 2020 more than likely.
They do have a solid quarterback committed in Jeff Sims, but how long will it take him to be effective behind a raggedy offensive line?
Will the 2019 recruiting class begin to fall apart after back-to-back losses and looking disorganized on the field like 2018?