Florida State University Athletics
Practice Report: Taggart Reveals Garnet & Gold Game Rosters
4/3/2019 3:35:52 PM | Football
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After three rounds of drafting, a few days of free-agency and some last-minute tinkering from the commissioner (otherwise known as coach Willie Taggart), the rosters for Florida State’s Garnet and Gold Spring Game are set.
Taggart confirmed the final rosters on Wednesday and, barring any late changes, these are the squads that will meet on Saturday inside Doak Campbell Stadium (4 p.m., ACC Network Extra):
The most notable change is that Taggart swapped Khalan Laborn to the Garnet squad in an effort to better balance the running back depth. Otherwise, the rosters are mostly as when they were drafted.
Which mean that Marvin Wilson and James Blackman are heading up the Gold team while Cam Akers, Levonta Taylor and Dontavious Jackson are leading the Garnet.
Echoing his comments from Saturday’s draft, Taggart said he looked forward to seeing how the teams matched up on Saturday – and how his divided staff of assistants led their respective groups – but otherwise cautioned against projecting too much based on the rosters.
“It’s never the way you think it is,” Taggart said. “You look at it and say, ‘Oh, this team is loaded.’ And that team never wins.”
Garnet and Gold won’t officially meet until Saturday, but the two teams are already getting in the spirit of things on the practice fields.
Taggart reserved the last 30 minutes of Wednesday’s session for the teams to practice among themselves, and he’ll do the same on Thursday – FSU’s final spring practice before Saturday’s game.
The Garnet team, headed by defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett, worked inside the indoor facility, while Ron Dugans’ gold squad remained outside.
“I love this week,” Taggart said. “Because I get to see a lot of different things. How (the assistants) do things as coaches, and players too. How they react. But guys are excited about it. They’re ready to get out there and go.”
They won’t have to wait much longer.
Florida State’s four-week journey (five, counting spring break) is nearly over, with Thursday marking the final day that the Seminoles officially take the practice fields until August.
While the Seminoles might have an extra bounce in their step heading into their final practice for a while, the goal for the day – as well as for Saturday’s spring game, above all else – is the same as it ever was:
“We’ve got to continue to try to get better,” Taggart said. “And see if we can put ourselves in position to go out there Saturday and have the best game that we can have.”
Barnett exploring different fronts: It might not be a big deal. But it is different.
Florida State’s defense has at times this spring experimented with a “3-4” defensive alignment (meaning three defensive linemen paired with four linebackers), which is something of a departure from the more common “4-3” (four linemen, three linebackers) the Seminoles have employed in recent years.
More common in the NFL than in college football, a 3-4 usually calls for three oversized defensive linemen (think three men essentially filling the space of four) and a pair of versatile outside linebackers who can rush the passer and drop into coverage with equal ability.
FSU seems like it has the defensive tackle spots covered – Marvin Wilson (6-5, 314 pounds), Cory Durden (6-5, 305) and Robert Cooper (6-2, 369) all have the size and strength – and the Seminoles like what they see from the outside, too.
Linebackers Leonard Warner III, Adonis Thomas and Josh Brown have all taken some outside reps, while senior Dontavious Jackson remains on the inside. FSU could also try “standing up” defensive ends Janarius Robinson and Joshua Kaindoh and making them 3-4 outside linebackers.
(For context, FSU draft hopeful Brian Burns projects as an outside linebacker in the NFL, and his predecessors DeMarcus Walker and Bjoern Werner each made a similar transition after leaving Florida State.)
“I think I have a decent feel for the position,” Warner said Wednesday morning. “I have a good feel for where they play is going to go or where the (offensive) tackle is going to set.”
And no matter how the Seminoles line up, they all insisted that the primary function of their different fronts is to best maximize their personnel. Their goals and philosophies on defense will remain the same.
“We’ve got to be able to be versatile,” Wilson said. “… It’s just different looks, switching it up from what we normally do.”
Added Warner: It’s still the same concepts, mostly the same ideas.”
Extra highlights: The team spent an extended amount of time working on kick returns and kick coverage, with Anthony Grant, Keyshawn Helton and Tre’Shaun Harrison all taking some returner reps. … Former FSU center Alec Eberle (2014-18) attended Wednesday’s practice, as did women’s basketball coach Sue Semrau.
OL Mike Arnold
DT Marvin Wilson
LB Leonard Warner III