There are many things that FAMU football head coach Joe Taylor and his legendary mustache can do, but recruiting talent in the state of Florida will always be difficult, even for the man responsible for the Rattler Resurrection last year.
While meeting with a group of alumni supporters in Volusia County, Taylor confirmed what most college football observers already know about recruiting players in the Sunshine State; FAMU is not the only one. From the Tallahassee Democrat:
“A lot of these guys really don’t know what it’s like to be recruited to be on a college campus, so they only go by what someone like a (high school) coach has told them,” said (Clifford) Williams, a former football coach at Cypress Creek High School. “If a coach is telling them to go to FAMU, obviously they’re going to put some stock in what he’s telling them.”
In responding to Williams’ concern, Taylor reminded him that Florida is a hotbed for recruiters. His staff is split up to cover the entire state, but he reminded his audience that several big schools also intensely work the state.
Taylor could have left the point of his statement at the unspoken vibe regarding the University of Florida, South Florida, Florida State, and the University of Miami. But the truth is that several black colleges, in addition to nearby Bethune-Cookman, are building pipelines into the state of Florida.
Morgan State features 17 native Floridians on its 2009 roster, and Delaware State’s 2008 roster featured six southern transplants. For the two northern-most football-playing schools in the MEAC, that’s not a bad haul of talent from a state flowing over with it.
So go easy on Coach Taylor down there, Rattler Nation. Even a glorious mustache such as his can only work but so fast.
