FSU football will have a legitimate quarterback battle in 2018.
FSU football was thought to have a great shot at winning the ACC and competing for a national championship in 2017.
The loss of Deondre Francois in the first game of the season derailed those aspirations, and the ‘Noles had to survive with a true freshman quarterback the rest of the season.
A true freshman quarterback that didn’t early enrollee at that, and there were inconsistencies that were to be expected from running a Jimbo Fisher offense.
James Blackman looked great some games and then had his true freshman moments in others. A lot of FSU fans seemingly had a love/hate relationship with him.
Some thought he excelled under the circumstances and others thought he was terrible. I fall in the former category as a variety of factors were responsible for FSU losing six games in 2017.
Did James Blackman lose any games for FSU? It can be debated for sure. I’ll throw out the Alabama and Boston College losses.
I throw those two games out because he wasn’t a factor in the Alabama game, and the entire team quit after a quarter and a half in the Boston College game.
Blackman played well enough to win the NC State, Miami, and even the Louisville game. The only game he was simply outmatched was the Clemson game and even then he made some plays in the game.
Deondre Francois had an excellent redshirt freshman campaign, but here are five reasons James Blackman will be Willie Taggart’s starting QB in 2018.
Leadership
I would be a prime example of being a non-vocal leader and I think Deondre Francois falls into that category. He wasn’t the type to get all in his teammates faces to rile them up.
A lot of his leadership came from the toughness he showed his redshirt freshman season. He got annihilated every game but kept getting back up and going to the next play.
However, it’s no secret he wasn’t putting ALL the work in needed to be the leader of this team. If the QB isn’t showing up to workouts or mailing it in, that makes it easier for others to do the same thing.
That kind of thing can happen when there’s competition for your job. After all, JJ Cosentino wasn’t a factor and the plan was for Blackman and Bailey Hockman to redshirt.
Remember, Francois didn’t attend Senior Day this year. I understand he was hurt and couldn’t play in the game. However, if you’re the leader of the team you’ll understand you should be at that game.
If you’re not at the game, you shouldn’t be posting on social media with a guy that’s suspended from the team.
On the flip side, James Blackman got annihilated this year too, and kept getting right back up for the next play.
Blackman is a more vocal leader too, and players seemed to respond to him. Whatever clout Francois had in the locker room has probably been overtaken by Blackman at this point.
Especially with the younger players on the team. If you want to look at the older players, I don’t think Auden Tate’s gonna complain about James Blackman with the year he had while playing injured most of the year.
Willie Taggart said the thing he looks for first in a quarterback is leadership. It says a lot that Taggart had to have a talk with Francois about being there for his teammates even though he can’t participate in on field activities.
Similar Numbers Without A Year of Preparation
Deondre Francois Stats(13 games)
- 235 of 400 pass attempts (58.8 completion percentage)
- 3,350 yards passing
- 20 TD
- 7 INT
- 8.4 yards per attempt
- 108 rushing attempts 196 yards rushing and 5 TD’s
- Rating of 142.10
- Sacked 34 times
James Blackman Stats(12 games)
- 173 of 297 pass attempts (58.2 completion percentage)
- 2,230 yards passing
- 19 TD
- 11 INT
- 7.5 yards per attempt
- 64 rushes for -39 yards
- Rating of 135.02
- Sacked 29 times
For whatever reason some fans look at James Blackman’s numbers and scoff compared to the numbers Deondre Francois put up as a redshirt freshman.
Blackman wasn’t asked to throw as much as Francois nor was he asked to run as much. I don’t think it was because Blackman can’t run, it’s because there was zero quarterback depth behind Blackman if he were to go down with an injury.
The crazy thing is they are ridiculously similar and that’s with Deondre Francois having a year to sit and learn Jimbo Fisher’s offense. Not to mention he had some guy named Dalvin Cook to help take pressure off him.
That’s pretty damn strong for a true freshman if you ask me. Also, at least three three of Blackman’s interceptions were a result of FSU receivers getting the ball taken away from them by defenders.
More Accurate Passer on Short/Intermediate Routes
How does an offense score points and take pressure off young quarterbacks? The offense stays ahead of the chains, winning on first and second downs.
Let’s take a look at what Deondre Francois did when asked to throw on first and second down:
- First down-103 of 174 (59.2 percent) for 1,622 yards
- Second down-94 of 178 (63.5 percent) for 1,099 yards
- Third down-47 of 98 (48 percent) for 712 yards
James Blackman
- First down-82 of 131 (62.6 percent) for 1,179 yards
- Second down-74 of 112 (66.1 percent) for 929 yards
- Third down-41 of 94 (43.6 percent) for 409 yards
Fisher liked to use short passes on early downs as an extension of the running game when teams stacked the box.
Look at these stats. Blackman is the more accurate QB on first and second down. Those passes in the flats to running backs or receivers Francois struggles with are throws Blackman makes with ease.
Both quarterbacks struggled on third downs, but Francois wasn’t light years better by any stretch with a full year under his belt.
Deondre Francois’s Injury
Deondre Francois was injured on September 2nd, 2017, and is not expected to return to football related activities until after spring ball.
That’s a long time to be away from the game, not to mention the type of injury he had. By all accounts, he’ll miss all of the reps as Willie Taggart is installing his Gulf Coast offense this spring.
Both guys have the same amount of game experience now, but this means Francois will fall even farther behind the curve.
Not only will Blackman receive valuable reps to learn Taggart’s offense. He’ll continue to form chemistry with FSU wide receivers, and hone his craft calling protections at the line of scrimmage.
All knee injuries are different, but a patellar tendon tear isn’t a common football injury. In fact, there’s no guarantee he’ll return to the same form as pre-injury.
One of the biggest attributes people point too is Francois ability to run in Taggart’s system. He wasn’t a great runner in Fisher’s system to start with, but if he isn’t close to the same runner it’ll be a big detriment to his game.
Better Overall QB
I think James Blackman has a much higher ceiling than Deondre Francois. Ask yourself who you could see playing on Sunday’s in two years?
It’s James Blackman.
Clearly Blackman needs to put on weight, but that’s something he should be able to do. Will Deondre Francois become a more accurate passer? Is he going to grow another two inches and get faster? I’m not sure that’s the case.
When it comes to leadership and attitude I think James Blackman has the edge. The kid has all type of dog in him (that’s a good thing by the way) and it’s something you can’t teach.
When it comes to physical skills, he can make all the throws and is more accurate on first and second downs. He CAN run too as he showed in the bowl game against Southern Mississippi.
I’m not saying he’s going to be the next Deshaun Watson with his legs, but he covers a ton of ground at 6’5″.
Next: How Fast and Explosive Is Willie Taggart's Offense?
So just remember, Blackman accomplished all these things as a true freshman quarterback that didn’t early enroll. Just imagine what the kid will be able to do with a full off-season to learn and correct the mistakes he made as a true freshman.