FSU quarterback Deondre Francois is
Francois proves quick study in learning, running new offense
proving to be a quick study in learning new coach Willie Taggart’s Gulf Coast offense.
TALLAHASSEE – Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois faced many hurdles trying to quickly learn new coach Willie Taggart’s Gulf Coast offense.
Francois was limited during spring practice due to a major knee injury he suffered last season and split his preseason snaps with other quarterbacks vying for the starting job, giving him fewer opportunities to get acclimated to the zone-read option.
His coaches praised Francois for improving with each snap and are patient, acknowledging a lot of practice to master the offense.
“There’s still room for improvement,” FSU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Walt Bell said of Francois. “A lot of things that he’s doing on game day — not that we haven’t, trust me, we’ve practiced over and over again — but there’s no substitution for live repetition. Some of these things are really the first time he’s done them in harm’s way. He’s gotten better every week.”
In the zone-read portion of Taggart’s offense, Francois has to quickly decide whether to hand the ball off to a tailback or keep the ball and run.
“It opens up a lot,” Taggart said on the importance of zone reads. “Gives us multiple options when you’re able to do those things and when [teams] try to bring more [defensive] guys in the box. Being able to get it to your guys in space is important. More comes down to the numbers game, and you’ll have guys in the box that you can hand it out to — our backs — and let them do what they do.”
Francois completed his first touchdown run of the season thanks to a seamless zone read. Samford’s defensive line, which was pressed in the box, shifted left alongside FSU’s offensive line, creating a gap to the right that allowed Francois to walk in for the touchdown.
“I felt good,” Francois said executing the correct read. “I felt great. Coach T called a great play again. We were moving fast and it just felt good to run in the end zone again and do my little dance.”
Francois’ dance after the touchdown said it all. In that moment, the frustration of last season and the disappointing loss against Virginia Tech melted
away.
“It comes with experience, with reps,” Taggart said. “You think about it with Deondre. He didn’t have a spring to do it and in training camp, he’s sharing reps with other guys. And I thought he was so much better from Game 1 to Game 2 when it comes to his reads. I personally thought Deondre was locked in [against Samford] and to everything that we had to do.”
Taggart says the most successful quarterbacks have a strong understanding of the offense. When asked about Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges, Taggart praised the senior’s knowledge of the Bulldogs’ playbook.
“Their quarterback [Hodges], you can tell that he had a great understanding of their offense and he was really accurate throwing the football,” Taggart said.
Hodges dominantly attacked through the air with 475 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Against Samford, Francois threw for 320 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions — a stark difference from passing for 233 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions against Virginia Tech.
Florida State went 3-of-3 inside the red zone against Samford, while it went 1-of-4 in the red zone against Virginia Tech. The sole scoring drive against the Hokies was kicker Ricky Aguayo’s field goal.
Since the Virginia Tech game, Francois’ passing accuracy has improved. Francois’ 27-, 17- and 5-yard touchdown passes were thrown directly into the hands of his receivers — Tamorrion Terry and Tre’ McKitty. Francois also threw a perfect 30-yard, potential touchdown pass to receiver George Campbell, who dropped it.
“As cliché as it sounds, if he keeps [making completions], the sky is the limit for him,” Bell said of Francois. “Especially in this system. This is a great system fit for him and I feel like he can really take off as we continue to get better and grow around him.”
Taggart added, “Again, these reps that he’s getting in the game are so valuable to him. You see from game 1 to game 2 he’s so much better, and I think that’s only going to continue to improve.”
“I thought he was so much better from Game 1 to Game 2 when it comes to his reads.” FSU coach Willie Taggart on QB Deondre Francois