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FSU Football: What’s the real impact of Lance LeGendre recruiting miss?

By Kelvin Hunt

TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 27: Florida State Seminoles fans react in the fourth quarter of the game against the Clemson Tigers at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Tallahassee, Florida. Clemson won 59-10. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
TALLAHASSEE, FL - OCTOBER 27: Florida State Seminoles fans react in the fourth quarter of the game against the Clemson Tigers at Doak Campbell Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Tallahassee, Florida. Clemson won 59-10. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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FSU football fans are up in arms about the Noles not being able to land QB Lance LeGendre in the 2019 recruiting cycle.

Make no mistake, FSU football missing on Lance LeGendre was a bad look for the program. It was bad because of how long they had a relationship with him and who he signed with.

Also, there’s virtually only one scholarship quarterback on the roster so the chance at immediate playing time is one huge hit away.

We saw it with James Blackman when Deondre Francois went down in 2017 against Alabama. It’s bad that Willie Taggart hasn’t signed a quarterback. I just want to make sure you’re understanding that I’m agreeing with you there.

However, the fact of the matter is it’s not a big deal when it comes to the 2019 season:

  • No. 1-There is no guarantee LeGendre was or will qualify academically. The staff felt he’d make it in but there was still work to be done.
  • No. 2-Legendre was not going to be an early enrollee obviously since he had work to do academically. If Blackman went down with an injury was LeGendre going to suddenly be that much of a difference maker in FSU winning games or not? Nope.
  • No. 3-FSU football has a quarterback that’s been on the roster two years who was a three-star rated QB coming out of high school in Nolan McDonald. Yes, he was a preferred walk-on but he’s athletic and will have all spring to get reps in the Briles’ offense.

Thoughts

FSU missing on Lance LeGendre is more of a perception hit than anything. Yes, it looks terrible FSU got beat out by a program like Maryland considering where LeGendre is from and FSU’s depth chart.

However, LeGendre wasn’t going to be a difference maker in 2019. Who’s to say he would even beat out James Blackman in 2020?

I’m not saying he’s the savior but Blackman does have three years of eligibility left and FSU landed its quarterback for 2020 last week in Jeff Sims.

If they win on the field in 2019 and get to eight or nine wins in the regular season, the entire perception of the program will start trending in the right direction.

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If James Blackman goes down with an injury in 2019, it wasn’t going to matter if LeGendre was on the roster because he would be a true freshman that didn’t enroll early.

The chances of him being able to contribute much at all if he qualified were pretty slim.

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