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Insider Report: Teammates rave about new starting QB Francois

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New starting QB Deondre Francois has impressed teammates with his skills and work ethic. (Gene Williams/Warchant)

Jimbo Fisher didn’t need a vote of confidence from Florida State’s players before announcing that redshirt freshman Deondre Francois would be the Seminoles’ starting quarterback in their season opener against Ole Miss.

It came anyway.

All three players who spoke with the media after Saturday’s announcement heaped praise on the young signal-caller. And they each offered different reasons for why they’re excited to see Francois given the opportunity to lead the Seminoles’ offense.

Sophomore defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas said he has been impressed by the way Francois has taken coaching from the always demanding Fisher. He said the young quarterback already is showing signs of becoming a team leader.

Junior wide receiver Travis Rudolph cited Francois’ confidence as a reason for optimism.

“He always had that swagger to him that, ‘Whenever my shot is, I’m gonna make the best of the opportunity,’” Rudolph said. “That’s how he takes it. And I like that about Deondre.”

Sophomore defensive end Josh Sweat, meanwhile, said he’s been impressed by Francois’ tangibles and intangibles. Sweat reflected on last fall, when Francois was taking a redshirt and working with FSU’s scout-team offense, and said the Seminoles’ defensive players knew back then he could be quite a weapon.

“We knew he could throw,” Sweat said. “When we saw him on scout team, dudes you ain’t ever heard before [were] looking All-American at receiver. He was doing his thing.”

And when it became clear recently that Francois would be the Seminoles’ starting quarterback, Sweat said, the redshirt freshman impressed teammates with his cool demeanor.

“I expected him to be showing his nervousness or something like that,” Sweat said. “But he stepped up to it. He was like, ‘I’m ready.’”

Interestingly enough, Fisher pointed to a completely different quality when asked how Francois has impressed him during preseason camp.

“He’s willing to grind,” Fisher said. “Two-a-days is a grind. Running an offense is a grind. There’s gonna be up days, down days. Good things are going to happen, and bad things are going to happen. But [he’s] a guy who’s willing to grind and stays in it every play. And that’s the first sign. … That’s one of the things I was happiest about.

“He’s made his plays, he’s made mistakes. But man, he stays in it.”

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