Because of the untimely injury to quarterback Deondre Francois, the Florida State football team will be starting true freshman James Blackman this Saturday against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks. The Belle Glade, FL native will be the first true freshman to start for the Seminoles since Chip Ferguson in 1985.
However, when Ferguson's first start came around, it was not until the eighth game of the season. Ferguson had already attempted 37 passes in the five games he participated in prior to that point, so had a bit more in-game experience when he took the field 32 years ago than Blackman will have this weekend.
In his first start, Ferguson went up against FSU's in-state rival Miami Hurricanes with head coach Jimmy Johnson and QB Vinny Testeverde. Ferguson had an impressive first half, completing 10 of his 15 pass attempts for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Noles to a 24-14 halftime lead.
Dropped passes, quarterback pressures and a stingy defense resulted in Florida State only scoring 3 second half points, leaving the door open for an impressive half by Miami's Testeverde to lead his team from behind and defeat the Noles 35-27.
You can see highlights from Ferguson's gutsy performance against the Hurricanes in his first start below:
Four games later, Ferguson was holding the Gator Bowl Trophy as the game's Most Valuable Player after passing for 338 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Noles to a 34-23 victory over Oklahoma State.
