Preparing First-Time Starting QBs Not a Problem for Fisher

With No. 1 Alabama nursing a 24-7 lead late in the fourth quarter, things went from bad to worse for Florida State last weekend.

In addition to the team’s first 0-1 start since 2009, the Seminoles lost starting quarterback Deondre Francois for the remainder of the season with a torn patella tendon suffered on a sack by Alabama safety Ronnie Harrison. The loss of last season’s ACC Rookie of the Year has put FSU’s playoff and conference title hopes in jeopardy, but teammates are confident in his replacement.

James Blackman is slated to become the first FSU true freshman in 32 years to start a game at quarterback and the first to even see the field since Drew Weatherford in 2004. Blackman’s debut will come against Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday afternoon.

At 6-5 and 185 pounds, Blackman is a slender young man, but with a big arm and the ability to make all the throws. In addition to the intangibles and his teammates’ confidence in him, one has to like the fact that he’s being coached by Jimbo Fisher.

Fisher’s reputation as a quarterback guru is well-known, but it should be noted that the FSU head man has also excelled when it comes to getting first-time starters at quarterback ready on short notice. This will be the fourth time since Fisher came to FSU (originally as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach) in 2007 that he has had to prepare a young quarterback to make his first career start during the season.

Here’s how the previous three have fared:

Given the short time to prepare in the past, first-time starters for the Seminoles under Fisher have performed admirably. Two of the three contests resulted in wins while the other — with Clint Trickett under center in 2011 — saw the quarterback pass for 336 yards and three scores against a Clemson team that wound up winning the ACC.

It should be noted that Trickett’s 336-yard effort through the air was the highest passing total for FSU during the 2011 season. Manuel’s 75 percent completion effort against Wake Forest was the second highest for the Seminoles during the 2009 campaign.

Unlike Manuel or Trickett, who were both redshirt freshmen, or Maguire, who was a redshirt sophomore when he led a comeback victory against a ranked Clemson team in 2014, Blackman has very little experience in Fisher’s system. The fact however that Blackman, who enrolled in June, beat out redshirt junior J.J. Cosentino and early enrollee Bailey Hockman for the job shows that he’s the best man for it.

The fortunate thing for Blackman is he’ll get to make his first start against a Louisiana-Monroe team that ranked 120th nationally in total defense and 122nd in scoring defense last season. The Warhawks allowed more than 300 yards rushing and 37 points in their season-opening loss to Memphis.

The bad news is that after Louisiana-Monroe is a difficult stretch of good defenses that includes No. 16 Miami, N.C. State and Wake Forest.

While Manuel and Trickett both excelled in their first starts, it is worth noting that both struggled in their next. Maguire didn’t start another game until more than a year later.

Although Blackman will look to keep the aforementioned trend alive, struggling in start No. 2 will be one that he’ll be looking to end. From here on out however, it’s one game at a time and that begins at Doak Campbell Stadium on Saturday.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson