FSU Football: Deondre Francois returning to Noles a great thing

FSU football needs as much quarterback help and depth as possible, and the man who started most of the last three seasons provides just that.

In the weeks since the FSU football team finished with the first losing regular season and no trip to a bowl game in decades, the Seminoles have been waiting to find out which players would be staying with the Noles and which ones would be taking their talents elsewhere – whether to another school or the NFL.

As of Wednesday, the only major defection is Brian Burns – and we can’t blame him for that because No. 99 is about to get paid by the pros after another monster season. At the same time, names like linebacker Dontavious Jackson and cornerback Levonta Taylor announced they are staying with the Seminoles – giving both positions a much needed boost of depth.

Another person who is keeping his talents with FSU football right now is quarterback Deondre Francois – and for a variety of reasons, it’s a move that is not being met with as much fan fare because of a certain segment of the Seminoles fan base (and members of the Chop Chat staff) who have some hate in their heart for D12 for insane reasons.

Much of it comes back to the notion that Francois is one of the main reasons that the Seminoles went 5-7 last season and that he shouldn’t get as much of the credit for the 10 win season he had as a redshirt freshman in the 2016 season (I guess people forget how he single handedly led the comeback against Ole Miss and other wins, but I digress).

Let me state this for the record: I was disappointed at times with Francois’ play last season and thought there were some points where he didn’t look comfortable with the Gulf Coast Offense under new head coach Willie Taggart.

With that being said, and I say this with all the love to my fellow fans of the Seminoles: if you think that James Blackman would have done so much better last season, you’re flat out crazy. With the atrocious offensive line that was out there for the Noles, Blackman would have been dead on the field by the end of September.

Let us not forget that the monster game Blackman put up in his one start this season was against a N.C. State team that ranked 117th in the country when it came to pass defense last season – hell, myself or the rest of the Chop Chat family likely could have gone for 300 yards passing against the Wolfpack last season.

On top of that, it always helps to have as much depth and experience as possible for the Seminoles. If Francois had gone to the NFL or transferred, FSU football would have been left with Blackman, Louisville transfer Jordan Travis (who is just learning the system) and four walk ons – not exactly a group that instills a lot of confidence in many.

Now, you either have an experienced third year starter in Francois if he keeps that spot or an experienced backup if Blackman does indeed beat him out – which for the record I fully believe he is capable of doing. It’s a no lose situation if you are the Seminoles.

Some fans of FSU football are like those at other major programs and can seem to cheer harder for the backup as opposed to the starter – the love for Sean Maguire from some despite having one of the best signal callers in recent college football in Jameis Winston, for example. Instead of being upset Francois is back, embrace it as the best thing for the Noles.