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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 26, 2018

Willie Taggart

Greensboro, North Carolina

WILLIE TAGGART: Had a good week of practice so far this week, back to conference play against a good football team, well-coached by Coach Petrino, and a team that's beaten us the last two years, so our guys know what we're up against on the road. It's going to be a challenge for us, but it's a challenge that we're up for and looking forward to.

Q. Through these first four games for you, what you can say about what you've seen from your rushing attack with Cam Akers and Jacques Patrick and what you've seen from the entire group up to this point?
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, it hasn't been up to the standard that we're looking to have here. We haven't been rushing the football as well as we need to and want to, and it's a work in progress. I know we have some talented backs, and I think when you have a lot of rotation up front, that kind of hampers some things from being consistent in what you're doing. I think right now there's a lot of inconsistency, but it got better last week, and we've just got to keep working in the right direction to continue to get better.

Q. When you look back over the first four games, what you're seeing the team is improving on because I know you spoke about the fact that it's going to take time and implementing what you need is going to take time, but how have you seen the team respond, and are you seeing them in this last victory start to bounce back a little better? There's some pieces that are maybe coming together that you're seeing even if they may be small?
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, I saw it the week before, at the beginning of last week before we played Northern Illinois, just the way our guys came and with the attitude of practicing. They came and holding each other accountable about doing things the right way and executing the right way, and I think it paid off for us in the ballgame, some of the same mistakes we're making that we made earlier that were turnovers and penalties, and those are things that kills you, especially against a good football team.

We've got to get better, and that's kind of what I talk about playing winning football. We have talent on this football team. We as coaches got to help teach them how to win again and play winning football.

Q. Were there certain things in that game that you were able to point to to the players going over the game film and say, see, that's what I'm talking about, if you do that again and that again in the ACC games, that's going to give you the same results that you had against Northern Illinois?
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, I think just the way our guys came out and executed the first two drives of that game showed them what they're capable of doing, and the difference for those two drives and drives earlier in other games is we did it consistently without stepping in our own way, with no penalties or no turnovers and things that hamper you. Our guys were playing good, solid winning football in those drives, and then the third drive of that game we were doing the same thing, and it was 4th and 1, and got the 1st down but we fumbled the ball. Again, things that you just can't do if you want to be a really good winning football team.

Those things we've got to get better at. Again, can't turn the football over, and you just can't have costly penalties.

Q. This is a really random question, I know, but as somebody who grew up a fan of Florida State football, what do you remember or do you remember the Seminole rap video from 1988 that the team put out before the Miami game, and do you have any recollections of it or have you seen it in the years since then?
WILLIE TAGGART: Oh, yeah, I've seen it. Laughed about it, joked about it with Odell Haggins. Seen how many takes it took him to do his part in the video, so we all laughed about it as a team and all. But we tried to look at it in every aspect, and for me personally, I'm always looking it from the teaching aspect. The guys made a video and then backed it up. We've got to make sure that we're locked into football and what we're here to do and not the videos and all. But I do remember that vividly, and this training camp we watched it as a team just to get a good laugh at Odell.

Q. Where does he rank in the level of rappers in that video? I'm not sure if he's the worst, but he might be.
WILLIE TAGGART: Yeah, yeah, that's not Odell's cup of tea. He probably should have been the DJ or bebopping or something.

Q. Considering your history with the state of Kentucky and Bobby Petrino, does Saturday's game have any added meaning?
WILLIE TAGGART: I wouldn't necessarily say any added meaning. We're going there to win a conference game, divisional game against a team that we haven't beat in the last two years, so I think that's enough meaning for itself. We're looking to try to continue to gain some momentum within our football team and get better and have a great opportunity against a team that's beat us the last two years and kind of have our number. Great challenge for us, and we're looking forward to it.

Q. There are some parallels between how both you and Louisville have started the season. Have you talked to Coach Petrino about that at all or reached out to him?
WILLIE TAGGART: No, I haven't. You know, but like you said, there's some similarities there, and I think we're all trying to do our best to correct those things so our teams can get better.

Q. This may be an unfair question because you haven't been in the conference very long, but what's the biggest challenge that playing in the ACC has that the other Power Five conferences don't have to deal with?
WILLIE TAGGART: That's a great question. Again, it's tough, like you said. I haven't been here long enough, but I will say kind of the parity in this conference is closer than most conferences from top to bottom. You've got some good teams in this conference, and each and every week you've got to come ready to play because any one of those teams can beat you.

But other than that, I mean, again, that's probably the only thing I can think of.

Q. When you were at USF, the Memphis game was the game where the light went on for the offense and everybody just got it and bought in. Are you expecting the same thing to happen at Florida State, just one week where finally everybody says, I'm in?
WILLIE TAGGART: Oh, absolutely, and I see it coming. I mean, again, it's not as fast as we'd like for it to, but you see it coming, but you also understand why it's not there, too, and I think that's very important that we understand the why that it's not there, and make sure we're working on that why every single day. But I see it getting closer. We got closer last week, and we've got to continue to build off of that. But I personally think it's going to happen, and hopefully it'll happen here soon.

Q. Just talk about the run defense last week, a couple weeks ago against Syracuse they rushed for 200 yards and last week against Northern Illinois you shut them down to close to 60 yards. What's been the difference last week?
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, our guys did a great job of playing gap defense and did a great job of tackling when we had a chance to tackle. I thought Coach Barnett had a great game plan and challenged our guys to stop the run knowing they were going to do. Our guys were up for the challenge, had a great week of practice, but I think from a fundamental and technique standpoint, we were a lot better, especially when it came to tackling.

Q. Talk about Terry the wide receiver, the freshman. What do you like about his development? Seems like he's getting his big catches when Francois needs one.
WILLIE TAGGART: Well, he is a special talent. He's a big receiver that can stretch the field, and he's strong, so he can break tackles, as well. But I know he's becoming a guy that Deondre loves to throw the ball to, and rightfully so, because every time he catches the ball he's making something happen with it. Really excited about him and his development and knowing that he's only going to get better as the season continues to go.

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