Former Florida State wide receiver Keith Gavin recently opened up about his time in Tallahassee as he spoke candidly on the drastic difference in coaching styles between Jimbo Fisher and Willie Taggart.

Gavin, who committed to Fisher and FSU over Alabama as a four-star prospect in the 2016 recruiting class, joined the Ball and Life podcast (link here) to discuss his college career. He expressed disappointment that Fisher left and said he respected the coach’s high-intensity style, and then was asked several questions about Fisher’s replacement, Taggart.

Gavin, who finished his four-year career with 71 catches for 901 receiving yards and a touchdown, said he wouldn’t have considered FSU if Taggart was the coach during his recruiting process.

“It was nothing that I came to college for. If I was coming out of high school, and then this time, Florida State probably wouldn’t have even been an option for me,” Gavin said. “It was just, it was nothing like my first two years. All I know is work, and practice hard, and we didn’t really get rewarded that much for even our hard work. It was like the standards and everything were gone. It was really like ‘everyone just have fun’ and I didn’t really come to college to just have fun. I had enough fun my freshman year in college, ya know, but it’s more of a business thing. I’m here to get better and win games, ya know?”

Gavin went on to add that there was far too much “wasted” time in practice under the previous regime.

FSU went 9-12 under Taggart, who was fired in the second season during his tenure.

Gavin also noted that he detected a shift in Fisher’s demeanor in 2017 as the coach was slightly less intense in practices. He was unsure why Fisher left for Texas A&M in 2017.

The Seminoles recently hired Mike Norvell, who comes to FSU with a strong four-year record as Memphis’ head coach (38-15). Norvell recently said that he’s observed a football team that’s “hungry for improvement” during offseason conditioning drills.



“That’s something that, they really embrace the change, and there are a lot of changes but I like what I’m seeing so far,” Norvell said.