Things were bad for Florida State in the fourth quarter of its game against Alabama on Saturday night, and they got worse when starting quarterback Deondre Francois went down with a knee injury.

But the woes for the Seminoles reached another level Sunday when reports surfaced that the sophomore will miss the remainder of the 2017 season with a left knee injury.

Francois took a beating last year and got up every time. But the Seminoles aren’t so fortunate this time around.

It can’t be overstated how devastating of an injury this is for Florida State. Not only is Francois one the best quarterbacks in the ACC after throwing for 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns a year ago, he’s also the unquestioned leader of an offense with plenty of talent but also limited experience.

“Oh, I'm definitely concerned because that's your starting quarterback and the kind of player he is and what he has,” Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said following his team’s loss to Alabama. “But we'll get the guys behind him and we'll rep those guys and play.”

The guy behind Francois for the Seminoles is true freshman James Blackman.

A four-star prospect in the 2017 class, per 247Sports, Blackman quickly climbed the depth chart this summer to earn the backup role. He came in following Francois’ injury, and it’s expected he fills in for Francois permanently – Fisher said the Seminoles would "most likely" go with Blackman postgame.

Blackman is certainly a talented prospect.

At 6-foot-5, he’s got NFL size and can make every throw required in the Seminole offense.

He’s also a true freshman, and that’s probably going to be a problem. The Seminole offensive line is far from sturdy – Alabama piled up three sacks and nine tackles for loss on Saturday – and Blackman isn’t exactly an inspiringly sturdy presence himself at 185 pounds. Not too long ago he was listed at 163 pounds as a high school senior.

247Sports Director of Scouting Barton Simmons loves Blackman’s upside. But that’s with an eye toward the future, not now.

“This is an immensely talented kid,” Simmons said Sunday night. “He’s got a huge arm. There’s not a throw that Deondre can make that he can’t. But I think the big caveat with him is he’s a kid that could use a year of seasoning. This is not an ideal situation in the sense that he needs to develop from a mechanical standpoint, but he’s also a skinny high school kid. This is a guy with big time NFL potential, but this is a guy I expected would take a few years to get there.”

Blackman did not throw a pass against Alabama. So other than camp conjecture, there’s little evidence pointing to what he can and can't do.

We’ll find out quickly, though.

After Florida State plays Louisiana-Monroe this week, it will host Miami and NC State – a pair of Top 25 defenses a season ago – in back-to-back games. Later in the schedule, the Seminoles will come up against Louisville, Boston College, Clemson and Florida, four Top 15 defenses a season ago.

That’s not an easy road for a player who was taking high school snaps this time last year, especially considering he was supposed to sit behind Francois for at least a season and learn.

But Blackman’s time is now.

It’s just likely that its coming far too soon for Florida State’s national title hopes.

“This is going to be tough,” Simmons said. “But he’s a tough kid from a tough area at Glades Central High School (in Florida), and he has the mental makeup to respond. But this is not how you'd draw it up for him at all.”