FSU Football: Deondre Francois is healthy so let the competition begin
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU Football received great news when Coach Taggart announced Deondre Francois will be fully healthy going into fall camp.
Arguably the biggest question heading into FSU football fall camp is who’s going to win the starting quarterback job?
There’s three candidates between Deondre Francois, James Blackman and Bailey Hockman. Francois was the starter in 2016 before going down with a knee injury in the 2017 season opener.
James Blackman filled in as the starter from there as a true freshman, and got progressively better as the season went on while Hockman redshirted.
A month ago we questioned if Francois would be fully healthy as fall camp began, and Coach Taggart provided the answer during ACC Football Kickoff this week.(Quotes courtesy of Seminoles.com and Noles247.)
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“Good. He’ll be ready to go for training camp,” Taggart said.
That means we’ll have a full quarterback competition with all the quarterbacks getting their shot to demonstrate leadership and execution of the offense. It’s also apparent all the off the field issues Francois had are behind him.
“He’s handled his consequences. He’s moved on. That’s behind us.
“He’s reinstated. He never was gone away from the team. He handled the consequences we had for him and we moved on from that,” Taggart added. “He understands the expectations and understands what’s going on. He’s been doing everything we asked. He’s moved back on campus. He’s around his teammates more. He’s doing more with the teammates. He’s happy. You see him smiling and laughing and joking with his teammates. That’s great to see. That’s growth. He understands he has to continue to grow. He’s in the spotlight. He has to understand that.”
Related Story: Why Deondre Francois Should Be Starting QB in 2018
Thoughts
It’s great Francois is 100 percent healthy because that bodes well for FSU’s quarterback depth. They’ll have two quarterbacks with an entire year of starter’s experience no matter who wins the job.
It also means whoever wins the job won it outright and there will be no excuses about a player missing practice reps, etc.
Obviously Francois and Blackman have the inside track due to their experience but Hockman will have his shot too. A case be made for Francois and Blackman as both have their strengths and weaknesses, but most of all Coach Taggart is looking for the quarterback that will influence the team to follow them.
Francois made a step in the right direction by moving back on campus and trying to become more intertwined among the team. However, was it too little too late? Can he do enough in fall camp coupled with his 2016 experience to get his job back?
Next: 5 Reasons James Blackman Is Willie Taggart's QB in 2018
We’ll know in about five to six weeks. Buckle up Nole fans as it’s exciting times in Tallahassee!