And then there were two — as in scholarship quarterbacks.
According to multiple reports and confirmation from the athletic department, Florida State quarterback Bailey Hockman will transfer. Hockman joined starter Deondre Francois, a redshirt junior and sophomore James Blackman as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.
A left-hander from Georgia and former 4-star prospect, Hockman will leave Tallahassee having never appeared in a regular season game. He was redshirted as a true freshman last season. Francois was named the starter for Monday night’s opener against Virginia Tech earlier in the week
The offseason quarterback battle was often cast as a competition between Blackman and Francois, but there were reports that Hockman made himself a legitimate contender. After Francois won the job, there were also discussions that Hockman would be his primary backup, allowing the team to redshirt Blackman. Either Hockman was going to be third-string or he felt that being a back-up was not in his best interest.
Hockman battled a foot injury this offseason and other injuries in the past. Hockman was arguably the best quarterback in April’s spring game as he went 11-for-22 passing for 203 yards and a touchdown pass in a 31-13 win for the Garnet team over the Gold, but did have a more stacked offensive roster.
Hockman’s transfer also raises questions about what Florida State will do in the 2019 recruiting class. They already have their main quarterback target committed in 4-star, top-100 prospect Sam Howell. Only taking Howell would mean they have three scholarship quarterbacks for 2019, assuming that Francois doesn’t depart for the NFL draft. If he actually does, then it puts them right back in to an undesirable situation.
It’s very possible that they use one of their remaining spots to sign another signal caller. Right now the most likely name to appear is 4-star Lance LeGendre, who has shown interest in the past.
Lead writer Clint Eiland contributed to this article
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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