At one point, quarterback Deondre Francois was a favorite of both the Florida State fan base and the college football world.
It seems like it was a completely different era when it occurred (because it was). Before the nation knew his name and before FSU fans formed their opinions on his quarterbacking skills, Francois didn’t do much to make his presence known. That was likely by design.
He wasn’t a superstar on the level of Jameis Winston nor was the starting spot completely guaranteed to him. He was simply a blue-chip quarterback recruit out of Orlando, who would be competing for the job after 2015.
It almost happened overnight. Francois started the first game of the 2016 season, and it was there that he first got a penchant for lifting himself up off the ground no matter how brutal the hit. In the successive games afterwards, the narrative swung further into his favor.
Despite a porous offensive line and inconsistent receivers, Deondre Francois was leading his team to victory. The weekly documentation by the expert dramatists of A Season With made it all the more marketable. No matter what you thought of the previous star quarterback, everyone agreed that you could root for Francois.
2016 ended with a storybook tale of an Orange Bowl, capped off with Francois throwing the game-winning touchdown. Next season would be the national championship push, with Francois leading the way.
This made the 2017 collapse all that more devastating. When Francois finally took a hit that he couldn’t get up from, the sports world was in shock. With one play in the fourth quarter of the highly-anticipated opener against Alabama, a feel-good story and Florida State’s title hopes went down the drain.
You don’t have to look hard to find the stories about Deondre Francois from 2017. Whether it was rumors of skipping team meetings, evidence that he missed games to hang out with friends, or conflict in the locker room, it seemed like the 1-time darling of FSU football was rapidly falling out of favor.
Then the legal “issues” appeared. For full disclosure, it now looks like Francois was the victim of overzealous policing, as well as a dysfunctional relationship. Regardless of the full truth behind the incidents, having his name in the headlines for the wrong reasons caused even his most ardent supporters to start questioning his place on new head coach Willie Taggart’s team. Add in a couple of comments from Taggart and Francois looked to be the odd man out.
But as we noted in our story on the starting quarterback announcement, something clicked during fall camp. Francois realized that time was running out to regain control of his legacy. It required full blown introspection and awareness to grab his starting spot back.
The talent was there. The experience was obvious. It was the consistency gained from maturity that needed to shine through. It finally did, and Francois assumed starting duties once again.
He faces a perfect opportunity to impress on a national stage against Virginia Tech on Monday night. The Hokies are susceptible in the secondary, where a majority of their projected starters are either injured or no longer with the team. Florida State loaded up on wide receiver talent and looks to unleash it throughout the season. Could this be a preview for the rest of 2018?
Granted, it hasn’t always worked out that way. To this day, Francois’ personal record for passing yards in a game is 419. He set that on 52 attempts against the Ole Miss Rebels in 2016 — the Labor Day season opener and his FSU debut.
While he never reached that many yards for the rest of the season, it was a thrilling ride to watch him show off every trait that eventually won him back the starting job: The toughness in the pocket, the velocity to fit the ball into tight spaces, athleticism and the ability to get into a rhythm.
No, the Virginia Tech game won’t completely decide his reputation. He’ll probably look a bit rusty for a while, having sat out an entire year and only been fully healthy for fall camp. The rest of the season could swing in a dramatically different direction.
But if there was ever a time to completely regain the goodwill of the fanbase, it’s on Labor Day — the beginning of the Taggart era in front of a raucous home crowd, desperate to wash away the taste of last season’s failure. Francois can channel that same excitement heaped upon him during the legendary comeback against Ole Miss.
Nothing can make the skepticism go away quite like winning.
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