Florida State of the Quarterback

Dustin Lewis | Staff Writer

Historically, Jimbo Fisher has been known to develop productive quarterbacks at the collegiate level.

In fact, nine of his former prodigies behind center have heard their names called during the NFL Draft. Four of them — JaMarcus Russell, Christian Ponder, E.J. Manuel, and Jameis Winston — were selected in the first round. Russell and Winston were both the No. 1 overall selections in their respective drafts.

Despite his success with signal-callers, Fisher is still trying to reel in Florida State’s next elite quarterback recruit.

The Seminoles haven’t scored a commitment from a five-star quarterback since Jameis Winston elected to don the garnet and gold in 2012. Still, FSU’s recent struggles with recruiting quarterbacks have riveted from other issues.

John Franklin III was the lone quarterback to sign with FSU in the 2013 recruiting class. He was regarded as an athlete and many believed that his speed could eventually lead to him changing positions.

Instead, Franklin chose to stick with his dream of being a quarterback and decided to transfer after two seasons as a reserve on the team.

Franklin spent a year at East Mississippi Community College before signing with Auburn in 2016. He played mostly a backup role for the Tigers as a junior and is now looking to contribute at wide receiver during his senior season.

In 2014, Fisher and his staff also only brought in one quarterback. JJ Cosentino was rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 13 thirteen pro style quarterback recruit when he signed with the ’Noles.

Now, he’s a redshirt junior who has thrown a total of 19 passes as he heads into his fourth season in Tallahassee. Cosentino hasn’t seen a meaningful snap since the Peach Bowl in 2015. If all goes well for this Florida State squad in 2017, that will likely be the case for Cosentino again.

After two straight cycles with unsatisfying results, the Seminoles coaching staff landed two talented quarterbacks in 2015 that both hailed from Florida. De’Andre Johnson was a dual-threat quarterback who put up good numbers amongst his high school competition.

Deondre Francois was the opposite. He was more of a pro-style quarterback, though his production didn’t quite warrant his lofty rating.

Johnson was dismissed from the team in the summer of 2015 after striking a woman during an altercation inside a bar. He played the 2016 season at East Mississippi Community College before signing with Florida Atlantic University during the 2017 signing period.

Francois was rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 3 pro style quarterback in the country when he elected to become a ’Nole. He redshirted in 2015 before winning the starting job behind center in 2016.

Francois went on to finish his redshirt freshman campaign with 3,350 passing yards and 20 touchdowns. For the foreseeable future, he has the starting job locked down.

The 2016 class brought another talented, yet troubled quarterback into FSU’s signal-caller equation. Malik Henry was originally rated as a five-star quarterback out of California.

However, things changed when he moved across the country to play at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. IMG’s head coach, former Florida State Heisman winner Chris Weinke, accepted a coaching position with the Los Angeles Rams just four weeks after Henry enrolled at the academy.

Henry elected to transfer schools back to his home state of California less than five months after announcing his move to IMG. No reason for his departure was formally given by Henry or IMG Academy, but it was speculated that the team decided to shift offensive philosophies which made Malik unhappy.

Rumors also floated around that Henry exuberated attitude problems. Somewhere throughout the muck, Henry’s rating dropped from five-star to four-star during his senior season.

Even with his move back to California, Henry stayed true to his commitment with Florida State. He was rated as the No. 4 pro style quarterback in the class of 2016. Henry enrolled in school early and his play during the 2016 Spring Game had some fans quickly anointing him as the next great Seminoles quarterback.

Alas, Henry was suspended on August 20, 2016, for a violation of team rules. The suspension quickly ran from weeks to an entire month, when it was then announced that he’d be redshirting the 2016 season. After the season, Henry expressed his desire to transfer from FSU, though he has not yet announced where he intends to transfer to.

Fisher and his staff knew they needed to land a few quarterback prospects in the 2016 class and they did just that. First, they garnered a commitment from Bailey Hockman. The lefty is a four-star recruit who was rated as the No. 13 pro style quarterback in the nation.

He enrolled early and instantly emerged as the favorite to backup Francois. If Francois elects to go pro early, Hockman could end up as FSU’s next starter if he continues to develop.

The Seminoles also signed James Blackman, a three-star quarterback who was rated as the No. 18 pro style quarterback. Blackman is a prospect who came on late in the cycle, but he has the kind of potential that Fisher might be able to mold. The sky's the limit if he can fill out his 6-foot-5, 163 pound frame.

Nevertheless, losing Henry and Johnson in back-to-back years has hit the ’Noles quarterback depth chart hard as they approach the 2017 preseason. An injury to starter Deondre Francois would instantly put the reins of the offense in inexperienced and unweathered hands.

The aforementioned Cosentino has thrown a mere 17 passes throughout his career. His last true action came against Houston nearly two years ago. Cosentino took over for former FSU quarterback Sean Maguire after Maguire injured his ankle during the game.

In his brief outing, Cosentino finished 1/4 with five yards passing while getting sacked twice. He was replaced by an injured Maguire after only two full drives that accounted for a total of -15 yards.

Hockman and Blackman are both just true freshmen. It would be hard to ask a first-year player to lead the team, let alone comprehend the entire offensive playbook in just their first few months on campus.

Yet, Hockman does have a leg up because he enrolled early and got a chance to go through spring practice. Blackman will likely redshirt as he needs a year in Florida State’s nutrition program so his body can mature.

As the Seminoles head into fall camp with lofty expectations, someone —other than Deondre Francois — will need to step up at the quarterback position. As far as who that will be? We’ll just have to find out.