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FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 24, 2018

Willie Taggart

Tallahassee, Florida

WILLIE TAGGART: Big week for the Noles. Really excited to get back to practicing, and get ready for Louisville, a conference game. We talked on Saturday about our team. I thought our team improved in a lot of areas last week. By no means, like I said before, are we where we need to be, but we made improvements in the right direction. And we've got to continue to build off of that as we get going on the road now and get into conference play.

It's going to be important that we build off of it and try to play consistent, winning football.

Q. In 2014, your South Florida offense struggled to run the ball. I think you were 110th in the nation running, and the next year you were 11th. Can you kind of take us through the France tore nation of there what happened, to make you rise so many spots in one year?
WILLIE TAGGART: I think part of it was scheme, just the way we went about doing our scheme, and we changed the offense up. It gave us from a personnel standpoint more advantages to what we did, and we committed to running the football. Guys understood it, and what we were doing, and it just took off, I think. Just execution. We execute plays.

We had a quarterback that ran the ball well too, so more quarterback run helped as well. But I think more importantly, just had more consistent execution.

Q. Did you change anything on the offensive line?
WILLIE TAGGART: No. Our guys just, we made it simple for them, and allowed them to go play, and that's been the big part of our offense. I guess to answer your question in just one thing is we made it simple, simple for our guys, and then didn't ask our guys up front to do too much, and they played better.

Q. Going back to your opening statement, you talked about building on what you guys did well on Saturday. I guess, specifically what does that look like? How do you go to build and reinforce the good things that you saw?
WILLIE TAGGART: I think when you look at the first two series offensively, what our guys were able to do, to go out and put two drives together, and do it without any mistakes. I thought that was really important that we went down the field and executed our plays consistently throughout the drives, and came up with touchdowns which we want to do, and to be able to do it back to back was big for our offense as we gained confidence and get better.

Then on the third drive, we were moving the ball again, and then, again, we stepped on our own toe and fumbled the ball. And that's what I mean about being consistent in what we're doing. We need more consistent play, and we can't take care -- I mean, can't lose the football.

So, as an offense, continuing to get better, continuing to run the football like we're doing, and be better at that. I think more importantly, just consistent execution, the more we can have that, the better we are. We made some improvements. We didn't have any pre-snap alignment penalties that have been killing us and hurting certain drives. So our guys got better at that.

I thought in the first quarter we were playing disciplined winning football, and then during the second half we started making some selfish penalties with the lineup offsides and false starts. And then the penalties we had on special teams, we just can't have those things. Those are things we've got to get better at.

I thought we threw the ball well, I thought our guys pass protect a lot better than what we did the week before. And, so we'll just continue to try to build on that.

Q. After going back and watching the film, where do you think your team made the biggest improvement from the Syracuse game to Northern Illinois?
WILLIE TAGGART: I thought guys, first and foremost, they played for each other, and then I thought guys were more locked into doing their jobs and not trying to do everybody else's job. And by doing that, we were able to execute a lot better. And I thought our guys calmed down a little bit and just went out and played football and not overthink things.

I thought that happened a lot in the Syracuse game. There wasn't as many missed assignments.

Q. With you guys being 2-2 now, and looking if are your first ACC win, do you think this with weekend could be a turning point for you guys for the season?
WILLIE TAGGART: I wouldn't say this weekend, hopefully, it started with last week was the turning point for our guys to get a win back at home against Northern Illinois. Now it's a conference game, we're hoping that we can build off what we did last week and put together a complete ballgame, something we hadn't done yet, and we're eager to do it. And it will be a perfect time to go on the road and to do that up in Louisville, a team that's beat us two years in a row.

So we understand it's going to be tough, but we also know what we're capable of doing, and we hadn't played that way yet. We're looking forward to doing that.

Q. You talked about how you hope last week has been a turning point. Have you seen the players be a little more confident this week after getting that win under their belt?
WILLIE TAGGART: Yeah, to be honest with you, I saw it before the win. Just last week how they came to practice last Sunday after the loss was totally different. Then the way they came out in practice all week was the way you're supposed to practice. So I saw it then, and then just guys going out and playing, and finding a way to win a ballgame, and saw ourselves get better. I think there is a lot of confidence in our locker room.

But also guys understanding we still know where we are need to be and there is a lot of work to be done.

Q. I think in the first half you had 26, 27 rushes, whatever it was, and I think the passes were about even. Second half I think you ran it only seven times. What is the philosophy to change to really go away from the pass in the second half?
WILLIE TAGGART: To go away from the pass?

Q. I'm sorry. My bad. Sorry. You only attempted seven passes in the second half, I guess that's what my question was?
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, again, we're trying to establish the run, and we were up, and we wanted to establish the run and get better. That was something we said we wanted to do. And establishing an identity, and we're trying to establish an identity and do the things we said we wanted to do in that game, which is running the football. Knowing that running the football would set up some other things for us, especially in the pass game.

I thought in the first half we got more attempts to do things because we were converting on third downs, and it provided us more opportunity to have more plays. Then they're starting in the second half, we didn't convert as well as we did in the first half. So we didn't have as many opportunities that we did in the first half. So I think a lot of that has to do with that too.

Q. We talk about how the attitude in practice last week carried over on to the field. Now that they've had some success and saw that pay off, how was yesterday's practice? Was it the same kind of way, and the same type of attitude?
WILLIE TAGGART: Yeah, we had a really exciting practice yesterday. The guys came out and flew around. It was good to see, especially after a game and got some bumps and bruises, but no one really complained or anything. Just got out there and got the work in and made some of the corrections that we needed to make and got our conditioning in. Then we had our meal together.

Q. I hear you guys work on drills, and obviously that's become an issue. But it's been, looking back at previous teams, I think last year you had a (Inaudible) but the two previous years you really didn't. Is that something that comes in streaks or is that dedication to fundamentals?
WILLIE TAGGART: It's dedication and it's a want-to. It's a prideful thing in each individual that carried the ball that has enough pride in himself and the team to take care of that football. Because that football is everybody's dreams, goals and aspirations within our program and within our fan base and all. We all count on our guys to take care of the ball, and that's got to happen.

We as coaches got to make sure the guy that are taking care of it, or they can't run the football, or we can't put the ball in their hand if they're going to continue to put it on the ground. It's got to be that important to this football team and to the players that we don't put the ball on the ground.

Our guys, like you said, we work on it daily, and so to me it all comes back to a want. Got to build want-to. You've got to want to take care of the football and not put it on the ground. If you do, then you can't play.

Q. It seems like Eberle (phonetic) had a lot of high snaps on Saturday. Was it a technical issue with him or him pressing too much?
WILLIE TAGGART: I heard that question after the game about a lot of high snaps, and I don't remember there being a lot of high snaps. I know that one that got over his head and cost us. Not necessarily cost us 7. We got 3 out of it on that drive. That's just, I think, just one of those things that just happens, you know, for him, I don't think it's necessarily been a big issue for us.

In that case, it was, because it was critical. We were moving the ball and got down there, and then, again, we did something to hurt ourselves.

Q. Is there any update on DeMarcus Christmas, and also on defense, Leonard Warner started out Chad at Mike linebacker, was that health related or just a performance thing?
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, with Christmas, he'll be playing this week. He practiced yesterday with us. Then with Leonard, D-Jack didn't practice much in the week, and Leonard did a great job of practice during the week. He did a really good job in the game.

I think that's one young man that's getting better each and every week, and really providing a lot of good energy and good play for us on defense. So he's starting in front of D-Jack because he practiced more than D-Jack, and was ready to start that game than he was.

Q. In the film, the first two drives were kind of what you would like to see out of the offense, what was working so well when you went back and looked at the film? Then the second part of my question, you guys only scored three points in the third quarter in four games. So is there something else coming out of the locker room that's not clicking, and what are you doing to address that?
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, I think the first two drives are exactly where we'd like to be as an offense, and we'd like to play like that for 60 minutes, if we could. And I think we'll get more out of our offense if we could do that play more consistent without stepping in our own way.

I think that's what we saw in those two drives. We got out of our own way, and guys were -- and they made big-time plays. Guys stepped up and made big time plays in that drive. I think coming out of halftime, I mean, you just look throughout the season, we hadn't played well offensively.

I don't think it's necessarily a third-quarter thing or anything, we just hadn't played consistently well overall. I think once we start playing consistently well overall, we'll score points in the third quarter or any quarter.

But that's not going to happen until we play consistently enough. And we get more reps and more guys are playing consistently out there, those things will come.

Q. Through four games, who has been your best player on defense?
WILLIE TAGGART: A lot of guys. I mean, I couldn't just name one guy. It's never just one guy considering the way our guys have been playing defensively, there are a lot of guys that contribute to that. I couldn't sit here and just single out one guy. Plenty of guys are playing well each and every week.

Kyle Meyers has been playing outstanding, Stanford Samuels has been playing well, Marvin Wilson has been playing well, DeMarcus Christmas, when he was in there, he was playing well. Brian Burns, D-Jack, I mean, just different guys stepping up and making plays. But I think that's why we're playing well because a lot of guys are stepping up and making plays for us.

Q. Through four games, you knew Harlon Barnett's reputation; that's why you hired him. But you hadn't worked with him. Now that you've worked with him through four games, what has impressed you with the way he handles this defense and coaches this defense?
WILLIE TAGGART: I just like everything he's done so far, not just with our players, but with the coaching staff, and just how those guys get along and work well together. I think it trickles down to our players, and they see that and how close those guys are. And Harlon does a great job of listening, listening to his coaches, and taking advice, not necessarily doing everything they want him to do, but he'll listen. And I think that's important. It helps him tremendously.

Just the way the defense is playing is how he said he wanted them to play. So that's been great for him to come here and having our guys trying to establish an identity what they want to be defensively.

Q. After the game you said you saw the offensive line get better. You thought they made some improvements now after going back and watching film. I guess what areas did you see improvement in? Who impressed? And I guess did your initial impressions on that line stand out?
WILLIE TAGGART: Again, I thought we played better with techniques and fundamentally. When we did that consistently enough, good things happen for us. We still have some hiccups to where we didn't do things really well technique-wise, or a guy panicked here and there and not just trust his assignment, trust his rules.

But I thought overall for the most part our guys played a lot better technique-wise and fundamentally, and did their jobs, you know. So when you can do those things, then you give yourselves a chance.

When you're not playing fundamentally or technically sound, and then you're doing someone else's job and not yours, that's when bad things happen for you. So our guys were more focused up front than what they had to do, and played more aggressive than we have played in the past.

Q. How important is it for that group given the fact that they haven't always been successful, and guys coming in and out of the lineup, to have that success and build on and be aggressive. How important is it?
WILLIE TAGGART: I think it's really important when you can do it and you have some success, and they showed themselves they can get it done, and not have to listen to anything else about what they can't do. Just going out and executing and showing what you're capable of, and then build off of that, and not listening to anything else.

Our guys know what they're capable of doing. It's just a matter of playing together and trusting what you are taught to do. When you do those things, you give yourself a chance. The rest of it comes down to fighting. You got to want it more than the other guy.

So our guys showed and know that they can get it done. Now it's just being able to go out there and perform that way for 60 minutes and doing it consistently.

Q. (Inaudible) mentioned a couple plays where he was alert and jumped on fumbles, and a play on defense where it looked like you guys were trying to scoop and score. How do you teach winning football, and is that a culture thing? How do you work on that?
WILLIE TAGGART: I think it is a cultural thing. It's something that you've got to preach and do, demand every single day. It doesn't just happen overnight. All those moments are teaching moments. And, again, understanding where you're at on the field and the ball on the ground as a defendant, just get on it and give your offense a chance to get the ball. We weren't thinking that way.

But that's part of our jobs as coaches to demand that every single day, and every opportunity we see, we've got to teach from it. The more we continue to do that, the more our guys will develop those habits and understanding of what not to do in those certain situations.

But that's a cultural thing, and something that you've got to do every single day until our guys understand that's just how we go about doing things.

Q. Looking at the schedule ahead and the offensive production that you've been able to find and the recent history against this team, does it feel especially important?
WILLIE TAGGART: Every weekend, every game is very important to us. It's important because it is the next game. It's important because it's an ACC game, a divisional game for us, and it's important because it's a team we haven't beaten in two years. So it's important for a lot of reasons. We need to win, and we need to go play well in order to win.

So it's a very important game. Every game from this point on is very important. Our guys understand that and know that we've got to have another great week of practice, and go up there and see if we can play some winning football.

Q. It seems like every game so far you've had at least a few runs that kind of break out a little bit. What do you think is the key to finding that on more of a consistent basis?
WILLIE TAGGART: Oh, trusting your techniques and your assignment. I think our guys -- some of our backs got to calm down a little bit and just be patient and trust what you've been taught. Not hurry or anything. I think some of our guys have been rushing some things and they're missing cuts, they're missing holes, and then they're getting frustrated behind that.

I think running the ball like we ran last week, eventually some of them are going to pop, but they're not going to pop until we trust our assignments and where we're supposed to run the ball. And more importantly, understanding who the linemen are blocking. You know, our backs understand who they're blocking, then they can do a great job of setting up the blocks.

A lot of it is just being patient, because I think things haven't necessarily gone the way we want to when it comes to running, sometimes we panic and try to do too much. We've got to let the game come to us.

Q. How much has it proven to be particularly painful on special teams during returns, how do you plan on addressing this in the future?
WILLIE TAGGART: Say that again?

Q. Penalties have proven to be particularly painful on special teams during the turns. How do you plan on addressing this in the future?
WILLIE TAGGART: We've got to keep working on those things that are hurting us on special teams. The one is holding on punt return. I think all of our penalties have come off of punt return. And I know that's something that we've been stressing to our players about getting on defenders and trying to hold them up to give D.J. Matthews an opportunity to return balls.

Early in the year, we were letting guys down with fair catching, so he wasn't getting any returns. Now our guys are working really hard to try to hold guys up to allow him to get catches. We've got to do it better technique-wise so we don't get called for holding.

Again, we've got to keep working on that daily in practice, because those are things that, again, it's holding. But we want our guys to hold up to give them a chance. We've just got to do it better than what we've been doing it.

Q. Can we get an update on Landon Dickerson and Derrick Kelly, how they're doing? Is there any timeframe when either or both will be back?
WILLIE TAGGART: Landon's looking good. He ran around yesterday, looked good. Ran around, that was good to see. We'll see how this week plays out for him.

Derrick is not close to where we want him to be. He's still working toward it, so there is no necessarily timeframe on him. But I would say Landon is doing well. Like I said, he's probably ahead of schedule, to be honest with you, and I know he's eager to get back out there to help his team mates.

Q. Going to Louisville, you obviously have a lot of ties to that part of the country. You and Coach Pimpleton played there.
WILLIE TAGGART: My wife's from there.

Q. To go back and coach there, your memories from playing there and all that kind of stuff, is this going to be a cool week for you?
WILLIE TAGGART: I wouldn't say it's going to be a cool week just because of me and my relationship there. It's another opportunity for our team to go up there and play against a conference foe, and we'll be excited. Again, I'm familiar with Louisville and the state of Kentucky, and to be able to see some familiar faces will be nice, always good.

But we're going up there for a business trip and to win a ballgame, and that's the most important thing. The people I know up there and that I'm friends with, I'm sure I'll have some time in the off-season to see them and spend that time with them then. But we're going up there for one reason, and that is to try to win a ballgame.

Q. (Inaudible) the way late in the game, and you talked about it after the game, but going back, did you see anything that maybe he could contribute more than he has?
WILLIE TAGGART: I thought there were a lot of guys that could contribute. There's only one ball, and you've got a lot of players. You've got to find ways to get guys the ball. But, I mean, it's only one, and you've got a lot of good athletes. So I think we can find plays here and there for him to get in and help us, and not just him.

There's other guys too that can do some good things for us, so if we can find ways to do that. But we're not going to do it just to do it. Guys are going to earn those reps, and hopefully take advantage of it like Amir did when he got an opportunity in the game to take advantage of it.

I do know when you take advantage of opportunities like that in games, it warrants more reps. So I'm sure if he had a great week of practice and keeps coming along like he's been, he'll be able to help us even more.

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