Blackman shows progress during win

GAINESVILLE — James Blackman’s first season as the Florida State starting quarterback has been a rocky one, but his performance at Florida on Saturday was a testament to how far he has come.

Blackman, a true freshman from Belle Glade, threw a pair of touchdown passes, leading the Seminoles to a 38-22 win over the Gators in a hostile environment and against a strong UF pass defense that ranks No. 29 nationally.

The victory marked FSU’s fifth consecutive win over UF in the rivalry series and moved the Seminoles (5-6) one game closer to bowl eligibility before the regular-season finale against Louisiana-Monroe at Doak Campbell Stadium this Saturday.

“I am really proud of James Blackman. He played awesome for a freshman in this environment,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said after the UF win. “I would have to say it was one of his best [games].”

At first glance to the box score, that statement could draw raised eyebrows.

Blackman’s stat line (10-of-21 passing, 128 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) doesn’t give the appearance of one of his best games.

The box score, however, does a poor job of summarizing Blackman’s performance.

Blackman’s receivers were on the hook for at least five dropped passes that hit them in the hands. Veterans Auden Tate, Nyqwan Murray and Ryan Izzo and newer contributor Keith Gavin were guilty of dropped passes. Even Blackman’s interception bounced off Tate’s hands.

Still, Blackman kept battling.

“He’s so poised, he’s got confidence, he’s so locked in the entire time,” FSU center Alec Eberle said. “Honestly, if you didn’t know he was a freshman, you wouldn’t know.”

Every time FSU needed a big play, Blackman delivered, especially when the game was on the line.

With FSU leading just 24-16 early in the fourth quarter, Blackman found running back Jacques Patrick, his third read on the play, on an outlet pass for 13 yards to convert on a third-and-9 play.

“When he did that, it made me proud as an exquarterback, as a guy who coaches quarterbacks, to see what he did in a big moment not trying to press it down the field and want something to happen, but to let the game come to him and trust his teammates,” Fisher said. “That was a bigtime play by him.”

Later that drive, Blackman found receiver Ermon Lane and delivered a perfectly thrown pass on second-and-19.

“That guy right there, can’t say enough about him,” Patrick said of Blackman. “Love the way he plays, love the energy out there.”