Senior LB questions leadership, players looking ahead to draft (with video)
With Florida State players banned from posting on social media during the season and with only a select few veterans permitted to take part in interviews, it's extremely rare to hear one provide candid responses to tough questions. However, a 2-5 season at Florida State is extremely rare in and of itself.
Senior Jacob Pugh strayed away from the typical "trust the process" and we will "work harder" comments when he spoke to the media on Monday. In fact, when asked about how this season has gone sour he didn't hesitate to voice his honest opinion about what's gone wrong.
"Lack of leadership," explained Pugh. "Everybody is just doing their own thing, pretty much. I just feel like everybody is worried about everything else. There are probably players worried about the draft or whatever so ain't nobody really focused."
When the Tallahassee native signed with FSU in 2014, his rookie year included a perfect regular season record and a conference championship. Pugh was quick to point out that the culture of that 2014 team was very different from what is taking place now.
"We had a lot of older guys that demanded respect and demanded us to play hard and fight for one another," he said of the 2014 team. "It's not like that now."
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Finally, the senior linebacker wasn't very optimistic when asked about the rest of the season and the chances that some of his teammates will step up to help turn things around.
"it's too late now," conceded Pugh. "They should have done that at the beginning of the season. It's too late to try to demand (that) because everybody is too set in their ways."
"Its like a nightmare," he added. "I've never lost this much. It's not something I'm used to."
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