How Deondre Francois and the QB group shook out in Florida States first practice

May 02, 2024

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Prior to taking the field Monday, Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois told the Seminoles trainers that the last time he’d been taped up was on Sept. 2, 2017, before he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee against Alabama.

Minutes later Francois went full-go during practice for the first time in nearly a year, although his return came with rust.

Early on Stanford Samuels III muscled wide receiver Adarius Dent out of the way during a one-on-one drill, pinning him on his outside hip and easily picking off a pass from Francois. The sophomore cornerback celebrated with the ball while pointing toward its origin in the backfield.

On Francois’ next attempt, Levonta Taylor forced an incompletion and steered redshirt freshman Tamorrion Terry out of bounds on a go-route. Francois had overthrown Terry, leaving him with no choice, and Taylor let him hear it.

“That’s two for two!” he shouted, “I couldn’t wait until you came back.”

Francois threw his third consecutive incompletion after that, but his struggles were a part of a larger trend. Whether it was one-on-ones, 7-on-7s or 11-on-11s, none of Florida State’s quarterbacks could not consistently find success through the air down the field.

Francois rebounded later in practice and likely put together the best day of the bunch, but it was mostly on short and intermediate throws. Bailey Hockman and James Blackman were less steady, with Blackman struggling a bit with his accuracy. It wasn’t all the quarterback’s fault, though, as the Seminoles’ defensive backs largely dominated their individual matchups and the receivers dropped a few balls when they were open for easy completions.

Regardless, the three-way quarterback competition between Francois, Blackman and Hockman is officially underway.

‘There’s no depth chart’ at QB

Before the open practice started, each quarterback mostly deflected any questions about where they stand in the depth chart and why they feel they should have the job. Blackman, however, let some of his opinions seep through.

“To be honest I feel like all of us bring this to the table — it’s just being great leaders and cheering on our teammates and being able to pick up one another,” he said. “I feel like everyone that’s in this position is gonna do a great job, but I feel like I just bring a little bit more leadership.”

It’s no secret that Blackman won over the locker room and gained his teammate’s respect with his gutsy performance in his true freshman season last year. That goes a long way, especially if the players have as much of a say in who wins the job as what’s been said.

”There’s no depth chart, is what we’re told,” Hockman said. “The team is basically gonna decide the job is what they’ve told us. Who’s leading the other 10 guys and making their light shine brighter.”

Hockman has bought into the notion that it’s an open race, and he’s also bought into coach Willie Taggart’s high aspirations. When asked what he would do for the team if he won the job, he made a bold proclamation: “Win a national championship.”

Each quarterback has bulked up

Much has been made about Blackman’s weight, and understandably so. He was 169 pounds in 2017, which is incredibly light for a quarterback, especially one who stands 6-foot-5. On the updated roster he’s listed at 181, although he said he weighed in at 178 on Monday morning.

“Ain’t no telling,” he said when asked how often he eats, “I try to eat every second I can.” He said he’s pleased with his progress, but he doesn’t think it should be a concern. “I just tell people this is a different type of weight. Coming from Muck City, this a different type of weight.”

Hockman said he’s now up to 210 (he’s listed as 206 on the roster) and Francois, who looked noticeably bigger, recently tweeted out that he’d gained 16 pounds of muscle.

“That was one of my goals, just to put some more bulk on,” Francois said. “(Strength) Coach (Irele Oderinde) and the strength coaches did a great job this offseason. I feel different. My mom tells me when I go back home that I look bigger, my aunt told me I look bigger, and I just feel stronger.”

Interpreting a pecking order

During 11-on-11 drills Blackman ran with the first team, Hockman came in next to work with the second team and Francois went last to work with a mix of the second and third teams. With the vague nature of comments players and coaches on the situation, that’s about as close to an assessment of where everyone sits.

Francois is returning from a major injury, but it was still surprising to see Hockman take the field before he did.

“That’s just the way it is,” Francois said when asked how the process has been on him mentally. “That’s how football is. I’ve been competing all my life. Being hurt last year really was devastating to us as a program. It took a toll on me being hurt, being out for the whole season, that was my first injury. Right now I feel better and I’m in a better place.”

He’ll have to continue to prove himself to his teammates and the coaching staff all over again, both on and off the field.

Other observations

As offensive coordinator Walt Bell alluded to on Sunday, Florida State will experiment and move guys around on the offensive line. This is how the first team unit looked on Monday: LT Jauan Williams, LG Derrick Kelly II, C Alec Eberle, RG Cole Minshew, RT Landon Dickerson.
Williams and Dickerson both suffered season-ending injuries in 2017, with Dickerson appearing in four games at right guard. It will be interesting to see if his transition to the outside sticks, as Kelly would be a more natural fit. Abdul Bello played backup left tackle, Mike Arnold was the backup left guard and Baveon Johnson manned the reserve center spot. Corey Martinez rotated in with the starters at right guard and right tackle. Expect a few of these guys to appear at several different positions throughout camp as the coaching staff figures out what works best.
The receiving unit was short-manned on Monday, with D.J. Matthews not appearing on the field and Nyqwan Murray being limited to catching punts. George Campbell lightly participated in practice but didn’t take any contact. Redshirt freshman Ontaria Wilson got plenty of reps in their absence and was one of the most active targets. He still has a ways to go in terms of route running, but he used his speed to get open and create opportunities for himself. Terry and Keith Gavin spent the most time on the outside while Deonte Sheffield filled in the slot.
Tre McKitty, Naseir Upshur and Gabe Nabers rotated at tight end and were all used regularly in the passing game. McKitty is the likely starter and stood out the most, using his blend of size and speed to get open and blocking well. Cam Akers was the lead back with Jacques Patrick, Amir Rasul and Khalan Laborn rounding out the rotation.

Brian Burns and Janarius Robinson started at defensive end while Fred Jones and Demarcus Christmas were at defensive tackle. Cory Durden and Ja’len Parks were the reserve tackles while Joshua Kaindoh saw time at first-team defensive end.
Dontavious Jackson was at Mike and Adonis Thomas and DeCalon Brooks were the outside linebackers. Levonta Taylor predictably lined up at left cornerback while Kyle Meyers was on the right. Stanford Samuels III and A.J. Westbrook started at safety, but Samuels also appeared at corner and seems likely to play both.
Florida State held two practices Monday, with the first one being designated for freshmen and the second for upperclassmen. Jaiden Woodbey was one of the few true freshmen who appeared in the session open to the media and appeared at the star linebacker position.

Tuesday morning’s practice will also be open to the media in its entirety. Leave any questions you have below.

(Photo of Deondre Francois by Joe Rondone / USA TODAY Sports)

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