TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Willie Taggart is set to open his first preseason camp as Florida State’s coach Monday, and the day before he expected everyone’s excitement to match his.
“Where’s the juice?” he asked the assembled media at the Moore Athletic Center with a smile. “No juice. It’s football season. You guys have been waiting on this.”
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Over the next 80 minutes, Taggart, offensive coordinator Walt Belt and defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett shared their observations on the Seminoles roster. Here are five observations of our own:
There won’t be a starting QB decision anytime soon
Both Taggart and Bell re-affirmed the notion that the race for the starting quarterback job is a three-man one. Though it’s hard to envision redshirt freshman Bailey Hockman starting over James Blackman and Deondre Francois, he’ll have the chance to compete.
“They are all going to have an opportunity,” Taggart said. “They all understand that. That starts now. We’re in training camp now, and those guys understand they have got to go out and perform each and every day. And it’s not only the quarterback position. At other positions, as well, they are going to be graded every single day. So, you’ll see that depth chart move around a little bit if guys have bad days.”
“Honestly, you might think I’m full of it, but all of the positions,” Taggart said when asked which specific positions he was referring to. “It’s really important that we create an environment where it’s competitive and guys at every single position have to come ready to practice every single day. That’s what our program is built on, competition, and it’s going to always be that way. It’s, again, on our players to separate themselves and make it a no-brainer that they be the guy.”
All three quarterbacks will get reps with the first team at some point during training camp. Their individual performances in camp will be a factor, but an even bigger one may be how each affects those around them.
“For me, the ultimate job description of quarterback is as follows: The job description of quarterback is make the other 10 guys better,” Bell said. “To me, who can do that at a higher rate, that’s going to be the guy that you entrust to be the quarterback.”
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Bell outlined being a leader, having an even-keeled personality and staying consistent, both on and off the field, as ways to do that. He also indicated that it will partially be up to the other players to determine who gets the job.
“About 12-15 practices from now, a guy will walk in there and everybody will know, that’s the dude,” Bell said. “And then if some other guy walks in there, they’ll give a side eye for me like, ‘Are you sure you want him in here with us right now?’ They make those choices. To me, that’s the goal of the quarterback is how quickly can you get that done and how quickly will those other guys know, and so that’s what camp is for.”
Taggart wouldn’t give a timeline for a decision outside of saying that he’d like to have his mind made up by the time Florida State plays Virginia Tech on Labor Day.
Who starts at offensive tackle will largely depend on the interior
In my breakdown of Florida State’s offensive line on July 27, I pointed out the precarious nature of Florida State’s tackle situation. Bell reflected that sentiment during his media session.
“Great question,” Bell said when asked who he expects to start at tackle. “You know what, because my answer is probably going to be exactly what you think it is, and that’s we’re not real sure yet.”
By the time the season starts, Bell wants at least eight players who he can count on at the position. He said that who those players are depends on the starters on the interior and that there’s a possibility for guys to move around. Last year, for example, Derrick Kelly II played at left guard after starting at left tackle.
“I can’t tell you (who’ll start), but the good news is, we’re going to start finding out here in about 24 hours,” Bell added. “We’ll find the two or three right guys to go out there on the edge and do the job, and I feel like we’ve got the guys here to do it. It’s just who it’s going to be and what order.”
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Young players in the secondary are showing promise
Barnett applauded sophomores Hamsah Nasirildeen, Stanford Samuels III and Cyrus Fagan for impressing since the spring with their talent, physicality, speed and ball skills. Overall, the former Michigan State co-defensive coordinator was impressed with the sheer amount of talent he saw when he arrived here.
“As we went through spring, I’m like, man, there’s some dudes here, man,” Barnett said. “No disrespect to Michigan State, not at all. Obviously, it’s my alma mater. But there’s some dudes down here, man. Guys that jumped out at you and had really good springs: Brian Burns, that’s a dude, man, that’s a dude. Still haven’t seen Joshua Kaindoh yet, and you know he didn’t go through spring but I’m hearing how much of a dude he is and that’s just one guy — I mean, there’s multiple guys.”
Florida State will rely heavily on unproven talent at linebacker
The Seminoles lost three starters at linebacker from last season in Jacob Pugh, Ro’Derrick Hoskins and Matthew Thomas. That means that there’s a lot of uncertainty, but with it comes a great opportunity for some of the roster’s young players.
At last month’s ACC Kickoff, Taggart highlighted Dontavious Jackson as someone who he expects to have a breakout year. Jackson is expected to start at Mike, but the other two spots and what lies behind him are largely up for grabs. True freshman Amari Gainer, redshirt freshman DeCalon Brooks and sophomore Leonard Warner III are youngsters who’ll be counted on to contribute. Veterans Adonis Thomas, Josh Brown and Emmett Rice will also be in the mix. All of the returning players in this group combined for 51 tackles in 2017, with Jackson having the high of 17.
Barnett said Florida State’s base defense will be a 4-3, but the third linebacker will play the STAR position. The increasingly popular hybrid is considered a mix of a safety and linebacker. Barnett, however, believes the relatively new position is a throwback.
“That guy is what I tell people all the time, the star linebacker, for us, he’s like an old-school strong safety,” Barnett said. “I think the old-school strong safety doesn’t exist anymore, not in the type of defense that we’re trying to run. You know, the big ole guy, the David Fulchers of the world, Steve Atwater type-guys, because everybody has to be able to run, cover and tackle, everybody, in the secondary, I believe.”
Given their blend of size and speed, it’s possible that Brooks, Rice and even freshman safety Jaiden Woodbey could see time at the position.
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Young wideouts won’t have a choice but to be ready
Although it was likely compounded by having a true freshman in Blackman at quarterback and an inconsistent offensive line, Florida State’s receiving corps wasn’t very productive in 2017. Nyqwan Murray and Auden Tate tied for a team-high 40 receptions while Murray led the team with 604 yards. Tate’s now a Cincinnati Bengal and Murray is still recovering from a slight tear he suffered in his knee during the spring.
Juniors George Campbell and Keith Gavin both have experience, but Campbell has been unable to stay on the field and Gavin has caught just 27 passes in two years. It’s safe to say that sophomore D.J. Matthews, redshirt freshmen Tamorrion Terry, Ontaria Wilson and Deonte Sheffield, and true freshmen Warren Thompson, D’Marcus Adams, Tre’Shaun Harrison and Jordan Young will all be asked to contribute immediately.
“Yeah, they are not going to have a choice,” Bell said when asked how much he expects his young receivers to play. “We will lead the horse to water and we will make him drink. Those young guys, they are not going to have a choice.”
That may scare some, but at this point it’s a necessity to avoid even lower receiving totals.
Expected absences
Taggart announced there will be a few players missing for at least Day 1 of practice Monday:
Derrick Kelly is “a little banged up” and will be limited to start camp, but should be back. Nyqwan Murray is still recovering from his knee injury during spring camp. Sophomore defensive tackle Marvin Wilson also is recovering from a knee injury suffered in the spring and expected to return toward the end of camp.
Tre’Shaun Harrison had a family emergency and is expected back Monday night, and fellow freshman Xavier Peters, a defensive end, will arrive toward the end of the week.
