It's official: Fisher tabs James Blackman as FSU's new starting QB
In the span of a month, James Blackman has gone from promising prospect to becoming the first true freshman quarterback to start for Florida State in more than 30 years.
Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters Monday he will start Blackman in the team's home opener against Louisiana-Monroe at 7 p.m. Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The announcement comes after the Seminoles learned they'll be without redshirt sophomore quarterback Deondre Francois. Francois sustained a season-ending left knee injury in FSU's 24-7 loss against Alabama last Saturday in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Francois' injury came in the fourth quarter when Crimson Tide safety Ronnie Harrison made a shoestring sack. Harrison collided with Francois and sent the former IMG Academy star to the ground where he grabbed his left knee.
He immediately received on-field treatment from FSU's athletic training staff and was then taken to the sidelines. Francois needed the assistance of two training staff members to get off the field and into the team's medical privacy tent. Francois would leave the tent with a cast on the knee and was then transported by cart for further tests.
Fisher turned to Blackman in Francois' absence. Blackman, who is 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds, entered for the final series and handed the ball off to freshman running back Cam Akers to run out the remaining one minute and 38 seconds on the clock.
Fisher told reporters after the game, Blackman would likely be the team's starting quarterback going forward.
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The last time FSU had a true freshman start at quarterback was Chip Ferguson back in 1985.
A former four-star prospect, Blackman is from the western Palm Beach County town of Belle Glade, Fla. He was a rising star at Glades Central High and burst onto the high school football scene as a junior.
Blackman threw for 2,111 yards and 24 touchdowns during his junior campaign and was named to the South Florida Sun Sentinel's All-Small Schools first team for Palm Beach County.
His profile grew the summer between his junior and senior scenes. Blackman began to dazzle at camps including Fisher's camp where he impressed FSU's staff with an array of throws. It led to Blackman snagging an immediate offer from Fisher and eventually committing in August 2016.
As a senior, he completed 60 percent of his passes and threw for 2,158 yards and 14 touchdowns. Blackman was named to the Palm Beach Post's All-Small Schools first team.
Rivals rated Blackman as the No. 10 dual-threat quarterback in the nation and the 220th prospect in America. He was one of two scholarship passers the Seminoles recruited with their 2017 signing class.
Blackman is one of three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. FSU will also have redshirt junior J.J. Cosentino and fellow freshman Bailey Hockman. The Seminoles also have walk-on Jake Rizzo. A redshirt freshman, Rizzo led national power St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale to a Class 7A state title in 2014.
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