Hot Take Tuesday: Pump the Brakes on Alex Hornibrook

There’s no denying that Florida State’s Alex Hornibrook impressed in Saturday’s 35-24 win over the Louisville Cardinals.

The grad transfer quarterback started quickly, when he was inserted during the third series of the contest. His first pass as a Seminole was a 44-yard touchdown pass to Keyshawn Helton. Poetic, almost. But it was one series and a wide open receiver that even the lowliest of FSU quarterbacks could hit.

But then the unexpected happened. Starter James Blackman went down writhing in pain early in the third quarter due to a knee injury. It turned out that the first game where Hornibrook made an appearance would have to be one where he lead the Seminoles to victory.

Thanks in part to a couple of clutch passes from Hornibrook, the Seminoles were able to hold off the Cardinals for their first win over a Power 5 opponent in 2019. Perhaps none were more spectacular than a 60-yard room service touchdown pass to Tamorrion Terry in the middle of the fourth quarter.

Hornibrook looked to the right side before the snap and must’ve seen something he liked. When the ball touched his hands and both the safety and cornerback started sprinting to the line of scrimmage, Hornibrook let his instincts take over, and he did a nice little toss to a wide-open Terry. 60 yards later, and the Seminoles had a lead they would not relinquish.

Hornibrook would finish with a very impressive 15-for-20 passing, 255-yard, 2-touchdown stat line. Easy choice to start now, right?

Well. Hold off on that.

When discussing football, a lot of fans are more results-oriented than process-oriented. It’s obvious why…at the end of the day, winning is what brings in the money and it’s what keeps the fans coming back for more. But from a coaching standpoint, if your team is all results-oriented instead of process-oriented, your foundation cannot stand upright. The minute you do not get the results you anticipated, you have nothing to go back to and learn from.

Essentially, you need to look at the context of both Hornibrook’s performance and Blackman’s performance and understand why Hornibrook’s play does not guarantee him the starting job.

Everyone is focusing on the two touchdown passes that look all nice and clean on the ESPN box score. Yet both of those touchdown passes weren’t exactly clinics in how to pinpoint a pass. Helton’s touchdown was a wide open pass in the middle of the field where nobody is within five yards of him. The actual pass is around 15 yards in the air. The remaining 30 yards are Helton making the Louisville secondary look silly.

It was the same deal with the Terry touchdown. This one is a bit more impressive because Hornibrook spotted the blown coverage, but it’s a very similar split as the Helton score. The actual pass is 20 yards, and the rest of the 40 yards is Terry running a straight line with no one around him.

Hornibrook absolutely deserves credit for getting both of those balls to their intended targets (which is not guaranteed, as evidenced by other quarterbacks). There’s a difference between giving credit and using it as evidence that he deserves to start over someone who has had similarly impressive moments (even if they have been inconsistent at times).

Then you look at someone like Blackman, who throws an absolute dime on this pass which falls incomplete. It resulted in nothing but a fourth down for Florida State. Yet, it showed a level of quarterbacking which is hard to come by in college.

Yes, Hornibrook will almost certainly start against NC State on Saturday. I think even the most ardent of Blackman supporters are in agreement. There is no need to try and rush Blackman’s recovery from a potentially serious injury.

If he is not 100 percent, you are doing everyone a disservice to send him out there. We all know the offensive line still isn’t lighting the world on fire, and we also know NC State’s defense will likely pose more of a challenge.

Maybe Hornibrook will show off better examples of his ability to be a true weapon from inside the pocket. Heck, maybe he’ll actually turn out to be more of a threat with his legs, as he did show against Louisville when he realized a pocket was breaking down. If he does show a better ability to run the offense, then put him as the starter come Oct. 12 against Clemson.

But right now, there is no need for a quarterback controversy to erupt at Florida State. Blackman has done enough to secure a starting spot. Hornibrook has showed promise, and will get a fair shot — but anyone thinking he’s a shoe-in for the starting job in the future needs to rein it back in.

Clint Eiland is the lead writer for The Daily Nole. Follow Clint on Twitter @ClintEiland. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.