It has been a few years since Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher has had reason to feel comfortable with his starting quarterback position in the spring. After Heisman Trophy-winning Jameis Winston moved on to the NFL, Florida State has had options at the position but never felt it had a sure-fire answer to plug in. That seems to be a bit different this spring in Tallahassee as Deondre Francois has already taken control of the position and gained the confidence in Fisher along the way.
''He is a big-time player,’' said Fisher of Francois, according to the Associated Press. ''He can lead. He is tough, accurate and can throw the ball.’'
Anyone who watched Florida State last year would agree. Francois can definitely throw the football. He opened the season by throwing for 419 yards and two touchdowns against Ole Miss to get things rolling. Ole Miss didn’t know what hit them.
Francois played in all 13 games for the Seminoles last season as a freshman. In those 13 games, Francois completed 58.8 percent of his passes for 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He also rushed for 196 yards and five more touchdowns, proving capable of helping out on the ground when needed without being labeled a dual-threat. Francois proved he could be a reliable player to lead the offense last fall by completing 12 percent more of his passes in the second half (although his third quarters were much more efficient than his fourth quarters), and 15 red zone touchdown passes without a single interception inside the opponent’s 40-yard line all season long.
“I’ve been focusing on consistency and doing a better job of managing the game and situations,’' Francois said. ''I feel like I have gotten a lot better from experience. I made some mistakes last year and this spring I am getting the opportunity to improve.’'
Francois may not have ended the season on a great personal note in the Orange Bowl by completing just nine of his 27 passes against a very stingy Michigan defense, but he clearly took some lumps as a freshman that can be used as teaching tools moving forward.