Getting snubbed by FSU, others might have been Taggart's biggest 'blessing'

As a high school football star and a lifelong Florida State fan, Willie Taggart dreamed of one day playing for the Garnet and Gold.

It never happened.

And he couldn’t be happier.

Nearly 25 years after being passed over by FSU and other major college football powers, Taggart doesn’t hesitate to say that snubbing was one of the best things that ever happened to him. As much as it might have hurt at the time, Taggart now calls it a “blessing.”

“I wouldn’t change anything for the world,” the first-year Florida State head coach told Warchant.com. “That prepared me for my career and where I’m at today.”

At the time, Taggart was a highly decorated dual-threat quarterback at Bradenton’s Manatee High School. He led his team to a state championship as a junior and to a runner-up finish as a senior.

“I think a lot of it was just size,” Taggart said, when asked why bigger schools didn’t come calling. “I wasn’t the biggest. I did a lot of things, but I just wasn’t the biggest.”

What that lack of interest did was open the door to a struggling I-AA program that was beginning to turn the corner under then-head coach Jack Harbaugh. And while the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers might not have been high on his list of favorite schools early on, they quickly grabbed Taggart's attention -- thanks in large part to some phone conversations with Harbaugh’s youngest son, Jim.

Though still at the peak of his 15-year NFL career, Jim Harbaugh took a special interest in helping his father land this talented young quarterback from Bradenton, Fla.

“At that time, Jim was still playing in the NFL,” Taggart recalled. “You’ve been a high school football player and you’ve got an NFL quarterback calling you and getting to know you … that was special.”

Taggart soon would find out just how special the Harbaugh family -- and Western Kentucky University -- would be. For his life and his career.

In Jack Harbaugh, Taggart not only found a coach who could teach him the game at an extremely high level -- both of Harbaugh’s sons would go on to coach in the NFL -- but someone who could help him become a better player. A better leader and teammate. A better man.