FSU football: 3 reasons Mike Norvell can save James Blackman
By Kelvin Hunt
FSU football has questions about its quarterback position going into the third year in a row. Here’s why Mike Norvell can save James Blackman.
FSU football hasn’t had good quarterback play since Jameis Winston left to become the No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick in 2014.
Quarterback play and a terrible offensive line the last few years is one of the main culprits behind FSU football going 18-20 since 2017.
The 2017 season saw James Blackman take over as a true freshman non-early enrollee for an injured Deondre Francois. Blackman was inconsistent, but ultimately began to play better as the season progressed, winning Independence Bowl MVP honors against Southern Mississippi.
I still believe Blackman got a raw deal from Willie Taggart in 2018 as Taggart never seemed to fully support him as THE guy. I’m still scratching my head with how Deondre Francois missed all of spring and summer 2018 but won the starting job even though Blackman knew the offense better.
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Well, I know why, but there was no excuse for Blackman not to see the field after the Syracuse game where it was obvious Francois was not the answer in a spread offense.
Enter 2019 and Blackman wins the starting job and plays well the first four games of the season before Taggart and Kendal Briles implemented a two-quarterback system with Wisconsin graduate transfer Alex Hornibrook.
I think that moved hindered James Blackman’s performance more than anything last season. Admittedly, I was on it’s time for James Blackman to go after his performance against Arizona State in the Sun Bowl. It was an atrocious performance, but after giving it some thought, Mike Norvell could save James Blackman and use him in 2020 as the starting quarterback.
Here are three reasons why that’s the case.