For one reason or another, Florida State's linebacker recruiting and development took a major nosedive during the final seasons of former head coach Jimbo Fisher's tenure.
The Seminoles not only failed to bring in many high-quality players at the position, but the ones they did land often didn't materialize into productive players.
If the first 16 months of the current coaching staff are any indication, FSU is well on its way to solving that problem. With strong efforts in the 2018 and '19 recruiting classes and a fast start for 2020, the Seminoles' linebacker position soon could evolve into a real team strength.
Changes started quickly with '18 and '19 classes
When they arrived following the 2017 season, new head coach Willie Taggart, linebackers coach Raymond Woodie and defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett had to have made linebacker recruiting one of their top priorities.
The Seminoles were losing three multiple-year starters to graduation -- Matthew Thomas, Ro'Derrick Hoskins and Jacob Pugh -- and they had very little depth at the position.
Although they only had a few weeks to put together their 2018 signing class, the Seminoles made some quick strides. First, they locked down the commitment of Tallahassee product and legacy recruit Amari Gainer, who had committed to the previous staff but seemed to be wavering late in the process.
Taggart and defensive tackles coach Odell Haggins made an in-home visit with Gainer within hours of Taggart's introductory press conference, and they were able to convince him to cancel official visits to Notre Dame, Miami and Texas.
"I'm not taking any more visits," Gainer said at the time. "I'm signing with Florida State and enrolling in January. Spending time with Coach Taggart was amazing. It felt like just being around family."
Then the Seminoles were able to land one of the biggest recruits of their 2018 class when they flipped four-star outside linebacker Xavier Peters from his previous commitment to Kentucky.
FSU's previous coaching staff hadn't even been recruiting Peters before they departed, but the Seminoles were fortunate that Taggart and Woodie had been building a relationship with the Ohio product during their time at Oregon.
"Man, Coach Woodie has been recruiting me since he was at Oregon, along with Coach Taggart,” Peters said at the time. “I'm very tight with both of them. Coach Woodie was with me every step of the way."
The 6-foot-4, 232-pound Peters has since moved to defensive end, but with the Seminoles experimenting with a 3-4 defensive front this spring, he likely will see time at both positions.
