In Year Two, the kid has grown up. This FSU offense now belongs to quarterback Deondre Francois.
Now, we see how far he can carry it.
Francois, who starred as a redshirt freshman a year ago, is now the Seminoles’ undisputed leader. With a schedule that includes Alabama, Clemson, Miami and Florida, the expectations are on his shoulder.
“He’s been out there when the scoreboard mattered,” coach Jimbo Fisher told the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s been in big games, almost four or five game-winning drives last year if we could pull a couple of them off.
“He put us in good position to win a lot of games, and he did it under big time situations, so that always gives you confidence.”
As a freshman, Francois proved he had enough of an arm. He also showed he could stand up the physical abuse that comes with the job.
I’m not out here competing with anybody else, but I’m competing with myself internally,” Francois said. “If I’m tired, I have to keep going. The next ball has to be perfect. I can’t have any mistakes.
“I’m just competing to make myself better this spring than last spring.”
Francois led a comeback win against Ole Miss, then led scoring drives to beat Miami, N.C. State and Michigan.
Still, last year, FSU’s leader was running back Dalvin Cook. That’s no more.
“I’m going to miss Dalvin, but he reached his peak and had to go,” Francois said. “A lot of the young guys are learning fast, so it’s going to be fun.”
