FSU football has an open QB competition with its fall camp in progress. Redshirt junior James Blackman could have a big year if things fall into place.
FSU football completed its second fall practice Saturday and will jump into pads on Sunday for the first time.
FSU head coach Mike Norvell seems pleased with the progress the team has shown but knows they have a long way to go with the time missed from spring and summer practices.
One guy that’s looked good the first two days is redshirt junior quarterback James Blackman. He’s the most experienced quarterback on the roster with almost two years of starting experience.
A lot of people gave up on Blackman after last season and his Sun Bowl performance against Arizona State.
I was one of those too, but after thinking about it felt that Mike Norvell could save him this season. Blackman can play, he proved that as a true freshman in Jimbo Fisher’s offense in 2017.
The biggest issue is the lack of coaching and confidence. The latter is something that seems to be there again as he spoke with the media Saturday:
He speaks like an upperclassman, and he may finally feel he has a coaching staff that believes in him as a player. The last regime made it clear how they handled things in the past two years.
As I wrote weeks ago, confidence is everything, and that seemed to go last season when the old regime chose to go with two quarterbacks when Blackman was playing well enough to win games.
His experience gives him the upper hand in the QB competition even though he’s learning a new offense like the other quarterbacks. The coaching staff has tweaked his throwing motion too, which shows they are interested enough in him being their guy if he performs well during fall camp.
That tweak in his throwing motion is noticeable as he’s getting rid of the ball quicker in the film I saw from practice. A confident James Blackman can be a good college quarterback, I’m curious to see how things transpire as fall camp continues.
The biggest knock on him last season was having emotional breakdowns when he wasn’t playing well. The biggest question I have is, how will he respond if he doesn’t have a great practice?