FanPost

I trust you, Willie.

This article has been individually written for entertainment and conversational purposes only. It does not reflect the opinion of Tomahawk Nation, nor any of its writers, moderators, and/or support personnel.

Sigh.

You broke my heart last year, Willie. You promised me a high-scoring, fast-paced offense that would be simple. I believed in you, I adamantly defended you. But as the year went on, my defensive position became more and more fragile.

I think that we can agree; it was a season of 'firsts.' For the first time in a very long time, FSU would not go bowling. Similarly, for the first time, FSU would end up with a losing season. On a person note, the Clemson game was the first time in my life that I did not watch a FSU game to the end.

And for the first time, FSU football had become numb to me.

On the bright side, my interest in other sports experienced an uptick. I found myself researching the women's basketball team and reading TN's women's sports coverage more intently (thanks PAJ!). I even started googling 'womens softball jerseys for men' to see if that was a thing.

But my first love had always been FSU football, and while the season we all experienced was terrible and gut-wrenching, this was new territory. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure all of Nolenation can contest, we were used to 'coach-speak.' That other guy would operate like a used car salesman: fast talking, cunning, and clever. He would used those icy-cold eyes and beam them into your soul and lie to you. I mean, that slick-talking car salesman would sell us a wonderful image, an extraordinary dream of happiness, marshmallows, and butterflies, all rolled up in a pro-style offense, and we'd buy that sucker every. single. time.

So pardon me if I have trust issues.

To be honest with you, at the conclusion of last season, I thought it was more of the same thing. More lies, more fast-talking, more empty promises. Yep, when you walked through the door, you inflated excitement that Nolenation hadn't experienced in a while. When you told us to flood the stadium; we flooded the stadium. After the beating we took from V. Tech, you said "don't give up on us yet, Nolenation;" and as much as we all wanted to, we didn't. As angry as we were after that game, we took those words to heart and once again supported the program that we loved. However, after the close call with Samford, it was evident...

"Houston, we have a problem."

Willie, the ironic thing is that you did reach out to Houston for help. This was when that I began to realize that you weren't like the other guy, Willie. You mantra #DoSomething really meant something to you. FSU had issues that needed intentional, decisive repair and you reached out did something about it.

  • When players that threw punches against Clemson, you promised to do something about it. Those same guys are not here anymore.
  • When the starting QB could not maintain the FSU standard after you gave him a fresh, clean slate, you kicked him off the team.
  • After the offense exhibited arguably the worst performance statistically in college football. You parted ways with the old OC and brought in a proven guy, who has repeatedly shown that he can score points.
  • The offensive line last season was atrocious and oft-injured. You have brought in two transfers, with others on the way.
  • You know how Nolenation feels about Ron Dugans. And you went out and got him (while still keeping Coach Kelly around).
Last season hurt, but when I reflect I have to give you credit in some areas. You did something that really stands out to me. You never tried to shift the blame solely on the players. You always approached it with a 'coaches first' mentality. In other words, you promised not only to hold the players accountable, but your coaches as well. And the accountability is evident. The players now talk about it. The coaches talk about it. Nolenation is starting to catch up.

Willie, I truly believe that Nolenation strongly wants you to succeed. And I am more confident than ever that you will. In a very short time, you have not shown fear to make necessary the changes, if you feel that it will benefit the program. I had began to doubt you, but now I'm officially back. I have let last year go. We trust you and we are going to pack Jacksonville out.

Fanposts are a section for the fans and do NOT reflect the views of Tomahawk Nation.