FSU coach Willie Taggart
Coach believes QB will make better decisions off field
believes QB Deondre Francois will make better decisions following his latest offfield incident.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State coach Willie Taggart believes quarterback Deondre Francois will live up to new expectations set after his latest offfield incident that has brought angst to the Seminoles’ program.
“Deondre knows he needs to be better at decision making, and he also knows he needs to do a great job of who he’s around, and what he’s around,” Taggart said of Francois during Thursday’s ACC coaches’ spring teleconference.
“He understands the expectation, and I think he’ll live up to it.”
Francois was investigated by the Tallahassee Police Department on four occasions in two months, beginning in late February, for possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, according to a search warrant obtained Tuesday.
TPD received a tip Francois conducted a drug-related crime involving a grocery bag filled with marijuana, which police estimated was two pounds, at his offcampus apartment.
After searching Francois’ curbside garbage on four occasions, TPD acquired and executed a search at his apartment on April 12 and found just 17 grams of marijuana and other items.
Francois was not arrested and Please turn to FSU , C4
offered participation in a pre-trial diversion program.
Taggart reiterated he is handling the incident involving Francois internally.
Francois, who suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in the opener against Alabama last season, is expected to compete for FSU’s starting quarterback job next season.
Full steam ahead to offseason
Taggart’s first spring as FSU coach is over, and he hopes his Seminoles players and coaches can build on the foundation they established during the first five months of his tenure.
Taggart praised FSU fans for “an unbelievable showing” during the spring game, which drew a schoolrecord announced crowd of 60,934 at Doak Campbell Stadium last Saturday.
“It was a really nice environment to be around,” Taggart said. “Had a lot of former players back which was pretty cool to see, over 300 former players back on campus. Just seeing the energy and morale of everyone, having Coach [Bobby] Bowden back and hearing the crowd cheer for him was really awesome for me, personally.
“We got some things accomplished in the spring ball that we wanted to. … Now it's moving on to the off-season with a lot of positive momentum, and it's up to us to continue to build on that positive momentum now.”
Taggart praised his players for grasping the new schemes his coaching staff has implemented this spring.
On offense, Taggart said his players have adjusted to the fast-pace, no-huddle tempo he hopes to play with next season.
On defense, the Seminoles have adapted a simpler playing style behind new defensive coordinator Harlon Barnett, who is asking players to be “fast, physical and aggressive” without being confused by play calls.
“[We’re] just trying to get better in what we're doing, trying to implement the way we do things. [And] change the culture to how we want it and have great coaches in here to mentor and hold our guys accountable to doing what they say they're going to do,” Taggart said.
“I know what I thought Florida State has always been and should be, and [we’re] going to try to implement that vision with everyone around and get it back to a championship level.”