FSU football: Top 10 passing leaders in Seminoles history
By Josh Yourish
The Seminoles have had three quarterbacks take home the Heisman trophy in their history, but only two have made this list of top 10 passing yardage leaders in FSU football history. That’s a testament to the talent at quarterback in Tallahassee over the years.
The same goes for national championship-winning QBs, with only two on the list. Heisman trophy winner and national champ, Charlie Ward just missed the list and is 12th all-time, but certainly deserves mention. You can check out the complete all-time list of Florida State quarterbacks, but here were are locked in on the top 10.
There are plenty of quarterbacks with gaudy career numbers for Florida State including Mike Norvell’s current quarterback who continues to climb this all-time list. Let’s get into it with No. 10.
FSU football career passing leader No. 10: Deondre Francois (2015-18)
- 6,291 passing yards
- 36 passing touchdowns
- 58.0% completion
- 7.3 yards per attempt
After redshirting in his freshman season, Francois was in a quarterback battle ahead of the 2016 season but won the job after Sean Maguire suffered an injury. Francois looked to be the answer for Jimbo Fisher after Maguire and Everett Golson split time in 2015 when the Noles went 10-3 in the first year post-Jameis Winston.
In 2016, Francois led Florida State to another 10-3 season and an Orange Bowl victory. The Seminoles finished the year ranked 11th in the College Football Playoff rankings after Francois threw for 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Florida State came into 2017 ranked No. 3 in the country, but Francois suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. Florida State went 5-6, which ended Jimbo Fisher’s tenure.
Francois returned to have a solid year in 2018, but Florida State went 5-7 and he was forced to leave the program in 2019 after a video of a domestic dispute with his girlfriend surfaced on social media.