The Daily Nole

Deondre Francois Named Starting QB

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One of the biggest storylines in college football has seemingly come to a conclusion. On Monday morning, Florida State head coach Willie Taggart announced that redshirt junior Deondre Francois would be the starting quarterback vs. Virginia Tech.

Once Florida State’s 2017 season concluded, many were already debating the quarterback situation in Tallahassee. James Blackman hit a stride late in the year that showed off his potential as a starting signal-caller. In addition to the strong finish, Francois’ patella tendon injury against Alabama interfered with his ability to challenge for the job until fall practice. Many thought this gave Blackman a key advantage heading into the offseason.

Francois was also hampered by off-the-field situations and questions about his focus. When spring practice concluded, there was a clear sense that Blackman led for the starting job.

That narrative began to shift once fall camp started. Francois’ injury had mostly cleared up and he looked physically ready for the season. Multiple people close to the team indicated that his focus was back on track and that he had firmly put a lot of his past issues behind him. He’ll need a full season to prove that, but the coaches clearly thought highly enough to give him the starting spot.

From a physical ability standpoint, Francois brings the most versatility. His injury history will certainly impact how much the coaches use his legs, but he has shown playmaking potential on designed runs. Still, Virginia Tech’s secondary is young and breaking in multiple new starters, so the offense is certainly expecting Francois to take advantage of this fact.

There is a possibility that FSU applies a redshirt to Blackman, should he not play much and redshirt freshman Bailey Hockman assumes backup duties.

Francois has thrown for 3,560 yards and 21 touchdowns in 14 starts. It is unknown whether or not Francois’ grip on the starting job is firm or if Taggart will experiment with certain packages.

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