y'all peep this
It’s no secret that
Florida State Seminoles’ linebacker roster is a team concern. FSU sources believe there are a few recruits who could come in and play or even start right away. Georgia commit Trezman Marshall, of Clinch County (Ga.) is one of those players.
Marshall had a great interview Thursday with
Jeff Sentell of the AJC’s Dawg Nation. Sentel is an excellent reporter and kids really open up to him.
Marshall said that FSU and Tennessee flip/flop as his third school. That comment has to be concerning for FSU, because Marshall has visited several times and seemed to have a good time on campus. Auburn is his No. 2.
Here are some comments by Marshall and what I read into them.
“You can just tell by going up there to talk to the (FSU) players,” Marshall said. “They aren’t focused on winning a championship just yet. They want to play football. Everyone wants to play football. You can say that about everybody, but I’m focused on going to a place with a bunch of players who are focused on winning a championship.”
This makes some sense that Marshall would say this in comparison to UGA’s players. Georgia just played for a championship and its players are probably talking about winning one.
On the other hand, FSU’s players probably seem happy to just be playing football again. The 2017 season was a miserable experience. Playing football in 2017 at FSU wasn’t fun. Much of the old staff quit on the players. Just getting out there and feeling the joy of competing and playing for one another has to feel great to FSU’s kids at this time.
And FSU is not expected to compete for a championship in 2018. Its over/under win total in Vegas is 7.5 wins, meaning 4 or 5 losses are expected by those who don’t wear garnet and gold glasses.
He feels the Seminoles are recruiting him the hardest right now. Auburn falls right after that.
“Florida State is coming with full force,” Marshall said. “They are steady coming. They are not letting up. I can tell you they are not letting up at all.”
This is encouraging to hear for FSU fans. If FSU is going to flip Marshall, a lot of things have to go right, but making him feel like a consistent priority is key.
FSU:
“I don’t like coaching staff there but I love the head coach. That’s the best head coach that I have been talking to and have met. That’s what I have seen so far.”
And this is concerning. Coach Taggart has to dig deeper on this and figure out if by “staff” Marshall meant the entire staff, a portion of it, or a specific coach.
For FSU to be recruiting him the hardest per his own words, have hosted him for several visits, be able to honestly sell immediate early PT, and still be running third or fourth because he doesn’t like the staff is a failure.
For his part, after he took a lot of heat on Twitter from fans, Marshall tweeted that it was a miscommunication. I see kids issue retractions all the time after their open, honest comments get a fanbase angry.
Taggart obviously can’t accept that at face value. He’ll have to dig to see what was really meant.
And Marshall also claims that he doesn’t care about the depth chart.
“I want to hear a coach tell me competition will matter,” he said. “The best players will play. I don’t want a single thing handed to me about my spot. That’s how I feel about Georgia. You can go there and the best players will play. Period. When they recruit me, they will then try to find a better linebacker. I have to put it all my work to keep that position.”