Florida State dismisses quarterback Francois
Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois has been dismissed from the team, coach Willie Taggart announced Sunday.
Taggart said in a statement that he told Francois on Saturday night he is no longer a part of the program.
“As we build a new culture and foundation for FSU football, we have high expectations for all of our student-athletes and we will not shy away from those high standards of conduct,” Taggart said in a statement. “We are moving forward as a program.”
Francois was involved in a domestic dispute with his pregnant girlfriend in January 2018, but no arrests were made, nor charges filed in the incident. Tallahassee Police said Francois and the woman gave varying accounts of the incident to officers, who said they could not establish probable cause for charges. The state attorney also declined to file charges.
In April 2018, Francois was cited for misdemeanor possession of marijuana after police raided his apartment.
Francois, who just completed his redshirt junior season, started two years for the Seminoles. Last season, in his first year playing under Taggart, Francois threw for 2,731 yards with 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in a rocky season that ended with the Seminoles failing to make a bowl game for the first time since 1981.
As a redshirt freshman in 2016, he led the Seminoles to a 10-3 record and appeared to be the future at the position. But he missed nearly all of 2017 with a serious knee injury.
With Francois gone, James Blackman is the front-runner to win the starting quarterback job. Blackman started in place of Francois in 2017 and threw for 2,230 yards, 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.