Florida State’s James Blackman praises better coaching after Mike Norvell hiring

It does not sound like Florida State’s projected starting quarterback was sorry to see former coach Willie Taggart and his staff go.

The Seminoles got in spring practices before NCAA events were shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, giving James Blackman and his teammates the opportunity to work with new coach Mike Norvell for the first time. It sounds like the quarterback enjoyed working with Norvell a lot more than he liked working with Taggart.

“A lot more structured,” Blackman said of Norvell’s practices, via Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Beach Post. “A lot more organized. A lot more intense. The coaching was a lot better — the way they coached, the enthusiasm, the passion. Those things stood out to me.”

Taggart went 9-12 as Florida State’s coach and had a lot of issues with his team. It seems that Blackman, who will likely quarterback the Seminoles in 2020, is finding Norvell to be a breath of fresh air. Basically, everything about the Taggart era seems to be a failure for Florida State. If nothing else, Norvell’s arrival brings a lot of optimism.