Virginia Tech football: Deondre Francois will start at QB for Florida State

The Florida State Seminoles announced on Monday that Deondre Francois would be the starting quarterback for the season opener next week against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

New head coach Willie Taggart issued a short and sweet statement about the quarterback position and why the ‘Noles chose Francois, per 247Sports.

”As a staff, we decided Deondre was best for us and we’re going to go that way,” Taggart said.

Taggart likely made the right choice. As a freshman, in 2016, Francois looked special. He led FSU to a huge comeback win over Ole Miss is the season opener that year and the Seminoles finished his freshman campaign with a 10-3 record. Not only does Francois possess a big-time arm, he’s an electric athlete, too. His 2017 season was cut short by a knee injury in a loss to Alabama.

Francois was competing with sophomore James Blackman and sophomore Bailey Hockman for the starting job.

How does this affect the Hokies?

Probably not too much. Defensive coordinator Bud Foster had to know Francois was the leader in the clubhouse and Blackman’s skill set is comparable to Francois if he were named the starter. Mobile quarterbacks have given Foster’s defense trouble in recent years and Francois will pose that threat next Monday night.

The Hokies are going to be very young on defense in 2018, so Francois is a formidable opponent to begin the season. Expect Foster to send pressure all game long to ease the burden of his young secondary. It may lead to some big plays on the back end, but it may also lead to some negative plays that favor Virginia Tech, too.

Is it Labor Day yet?