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Jimbo 2020: Strangers with Candi


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DESTIN — As Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher spoke about his team Wednesday during the SEC’s spring meetings, the wreckage he left behind in his previous job was still smoldering 140 miles east.

The 7-6 flop in Fisher’s final season at Florida State in 2017 turned into a 5-7 failure in Willie Taggart’s first season in 2018. One subpar recruiting class led to another. The Seminoles’ short-term future is more likely to resemble its immediate past than the national-champion highs Fisher led them to five years ago.

Fisher doesn’t see it that way.

“I think (Florida State is) in great shape,” Fisher said.

Except there’s little great about the shape Florida State is in. Attendance is down. Its academic progress rate is the worst among the teams in the Power Five conferences: ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac-12. Its budget faces a multimillion-dollar deficit. Its record over the past two years, 12-13, is its worst since 1975-76, and even a soft schedule might yield only seven or eight wins next season.

So, no, Florida State isn’t in great shape. The only question is how much blame Fisher deserves for the decline.

The answer: a lot.

Fisher will disagree because of the talent Taggart inherited. Fisher’s last four recruiting classes in his 2010-17 tenure were ranked in the top six nationally. He lured one of the most talented running backs in the nation, Cam Akers, and landed Marvin Wilson, who has the potential to become one of the ACC’s top defensive linemen next season.

“They had draft picks, first-round picks,” Fisher said. “They’ve got good players this year. I see they’re picked to go to another good bowl game.”

The Seminoles didn’t make a bowl game at all last season, ending an NCAA record run of 36 in a row, and they didn’t make it to a good bowl in Fisher’s final year, either. Beating Southern Miss in the Independence Bowl doesn’t count.

It’s clear in hindsight that Florida State having to rally to make that Independence Bowl — it had to win its last three games to be bowl eligible at 6-6 — wasn’t a fluke caused by quarterback Deondre Francois’ season-ending injury in a Week 1 loss to Alabama, the snowball effect of that loss or the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, which cost the Seminoles their bye week and a game that wasn’t rescheduled.

Fisher’s Seminoles were rotting.

The offensive line lagged at the end of the Fisher era as recruiting misses, misevaluations and injuries piled up. Running back Dalvin Cook was able to cover up some of the glaring holes, but the mediocrity was still there. It finally, disastrously, caught up to Florida State last season, when Taggart’s Seminoles had one of the worst offensive lines in the sport.

Florida State’s effort lagged so much in a 2016 home loss to North Carolina that the Seminoles had to sign promises vowing their full effort, preparation and trust. Is it any wonder that Taggart said Florida State didn’t handle adversity well last year?

The intangible troubles mushroomed under Taggart, leading to six losses by at least 19 points. But that wasn’t new, either. Florida State got blown out at least once (often by less talented teams) in each of Fisher’s final four seasons, including a 32-point rout at Boston College in 2017.

None of this absolves Taggart of his responsibility for Florida State’s struggles last year. Florida coach Dan Mullen took over an unstable situation in Gainesville last year and turned it into a trip to the Peach Bowl.

But it does explain the hole Taggart is trying to escape, even if Fisher doesn’t see it that way.

“I loved my time at Florida State,” said Fisher, who was an assistant for three years before taking over for Bobby Bowden. “It was an outstanding place.”

Now Fisher is focused on his new place, the one that’s paying him $75 million over 10 years. Even if a brutal schedule (games against Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and LSU) keeps his Aggies out of the College Football Playoff mix next season, Texas A&M has top-15 potential.

“I think it’s going to lay the groundwork where we can go in the future,” Fisher said, “which I think is sky high.”

His old program still has sky-high potential, too. But for now, the program he left behind remains stuck near rock bottom.

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/fsu-seminoles/2019/05/29/why-jimbo-fisher-deserves-blame-for-fsu-footballs-mess/

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19 minutes ago, golfclap said:

giphy.gif

 

Can't believe he didn't lob another bullshit jab about facilities or shit on the donors again. 

Just wait, there will be some counter stories out there planted by him and his people to try to refute the situation he left at FSU. Of course, the shit you read about it on Aggy sites comes straight from Jimbo himself so it lacks truth. Aggy sites usually lack that anyway so nothing new there.

In private, I'm sure he's fuming about being asked this line of questioning. He used to call Tallahassee Democrat reporters and scream at them if they portrayed him, as he saw it, in an unfavorable way. Did the same with some of the writers from FSU sites.

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15 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Their boards have mentioned Kevontre Bradford from Lancaster: https://247sports.com/player/kevontre-bradford-46041118/

Louisiana has two RBs who could be takes too, if LSU passes; Ashaad Clayton and Kyle Edwards. Also, there's always guys like Tahj Brooks and Taye Williams. Or the Oklahoma kid we offered. 

Or as was mentioned, a random kid from Florida or Jew Jersey. 

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45 minutes ago, Fud said:

Louisiana has two RBs who could be takes too, if LSU passes; Ashaad Clayton and Kyle Edwards. Also, there's always guys like Tahj Brooks and Taye Williams. Or the Oklahoma kid we offered. 

Or as was mentioned, a random kid from Florida or Jew Jersey. 

Wow. Very racist.

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35 minutes ago, Bodacious Bevo said:

I make jokes that A&M bumper stickers should qualify for handicap parking, but this is a cool program that I hope to see more of. 

While that is a fine program I am not sure why Texas A&M is a good place to do it. Especially since they would probably have to move to College Station and away from employment opportunities to participate. It seems to be me it makes sense to have them in the communities those students live. Seems unnecessarily expensive for the families to do that, to put them up in a college dorm.

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18 minutes ago, DaysOff said:

Except you can stay in high school SPED programs until age 21, so aggy creates something redundant, unnecessary, then brags about it.

Once an aggy always an aggy. Why go to school in Baytown or Livingston when you can live the dream of attending class at prestigious Texas aggy university. 

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52 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

While that is a fine program I am not sure why Texas A&M is a good place to do it. Especially since they would probably have to move to College Station and away from employment opportunities to participate. It seems to be me it makes sense to have them in the communities those students live. Seems unnecessarily expensive for the families to do that, to put them up in a college dorm.

But if they aren't students at aggy for at least one term they can't be 'Former Students' and won't be a part of the vaunted aggy network.

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3 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Wiltfong says he likes Tennessee for King going into his upcoming OV's.

https://247sports.com/Article/Haynes-King-Tennessee-Texas-AM-Duke-Auburn-132460469/

We really, really need Tennessee to get their shit together here and realize that focusing a tremendous amount of their slush fund on landing King is a priority. Harrison Bailey looks like a current pothead and future flameout based solely on his 247 profile pic. Need Tenn so get their shit together for once. 

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35 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

We really, really need Tennessee to get their shit together here and realize that focusing a tremendous amount of their slush fund on landing King is a priority. Harrison Bailey looks like a current pothead and future flameout based solely on his 247 profile pic. Need Tenn so get their shit together for once. 

I don't think dirty recruiting would help here

Anyway, A&M's QB big board in a few weeks will look like

Hudson Card

Malik Hornsby

Ken Seals

King Haynes

Ja'Quinden Jackson

Chandler Morris

 

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1 minute ago, Fud said:

I don't think dirty recruiting would help here

Anyway, A&M's QB big board in a few weeks will look like

Hudson Card

Malik Hornsby

Ken Seals

King Haynes

Ja'Quinden Jackson

Chandler Morris

 

They'll just find another 3* scrub from Georgia or Mississippi that can barely complete 50% of his passes and say he's underrated / should be a 4* / "trust Jimbo " and a Looch take of how Georgia or Bama' really, really wanted him.

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1 minute ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

They'll just find another 3* scrub from Georgia or Mississippi that can barely complete 50% of his passes and say he's underrated / should be a 4* / "trust Jimbo " and a Looch take of how Georgia or Bama' really, really wanted him.

SEC type QB..needs polishing but will be great, 2022 here we come!

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1 hour ago, Fud said:

I don't think dirty recruiting would help here

Anyway, A&M's QB big board in a few weeks will look like

Hudson Card

Malik Hornsby

Ken Seals

King Haynes

Ja'Quinden Jackson

Chandler Morris

 

You think King commits to Tennessee?

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11 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

So I assume the “blown away” articles from Aggy after his visit this weekend will be pure fantasy?

It's recruiting, so it's not impossible that they land him, but if he's OVing to other schools after A&M, then I don't like their chances 

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