Schoffel: Maybe Francois' dismissal will end FSU's abysmal run at QB
It must be a lot harder than it looks.
How else can you explain the complete disaster that Florida State's quarterback recruiting and development has been over the last six years?
Since Jimbo Fisher landed Jameis Winston and Sean Maguire in the same class in 2012, the Seminoles have signed seven high school quarterbacks.
Three of those seven ended up being dismissed from the program (with the latest being Deondre Francois this weekend).
Two transferred without ever starting a game.
And one gave up the sport before his eligibility expired.
The only one of the seven who hasn't flamed out at FSU for one reason or another is James Blackman, and the verdict is still out on him. It was only a couple weeks ago that he was reportedly thinking about putting his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Here's a closer look at the Seminoles' Unlucky 7:
| Year | Prep QBs signed | FSU highlights | How career ended |
|---|---|---|---|
|
2013 |
John Franklin |
Appeared in 2 games; zero pass attempts |
Transferred |
|
2014 |
J.J. Cosentino |
Played sparingly as career backup |
Left program before senior year |
|
2015 |
Deondre Francois |
Started 2016, '18 seasons; missed '17 due to injury |
Dismissed |
|
2015 |
De'Andre Johnson |
None |
Dismissed before first season |
|
2016 |
Malik Henry |
None |
Dismissed* |
|
2017 |
James Blackman |
Started 12 games in 2017; leader for top job in '19 |
Still on team |
|
2017 |
Bailey Hockman |
None |
Transferred |
|
2018 |
None |
-- |
-- |
Would you just look at that list?
It's a mystery how a school like Florida State could experience a run of frustration and futility like that under any circumstances. It's even harder to figure out how it could happen with a quarterback guru like Jimbo Fisher running the program for most of that time frame. And it's downright impossible to understand when you consider that the Seminoles were arguably the best program in college football at the beginning of that stretch.
In 2013, FSU went 14-0, won a national championship and scored a gazillion touchdowns with a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback. The Seminoles then somehow parlayed that success into landing J.J. Cosentino as their lone QB signee in 2014 -- after Cosentino passed for all of 771 yards as a high school senior.
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