The Florida State Seminoles have booted star quarterback Deondre Francois off of the team.
According to Bruce Feldman, Francois was kicked off of the team Sunday afternoon. It’s not entirely clear what caused the dismissal, but head coach Willie Taggert said, “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. We are moving forward as a program.”
Big news out of #FSU from Willie Taggart: QB Deondre Francois is no longer a member of Noles football program.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 3, 2019
Willie Taggart on Deondre Francois: “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. We are moving forward as a program.” https://t.co/uwBNw0sl1W
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 3, 2019
So, it doesn’t sound like they ended on good terms. NFL scout Jim Nagy also tweeted that the dismissal was “not shocking to anyone that spent any amount of time around the program the past few years.”
The breaking news that @FSUFootball dismissed QB Deondre Francois is not shocking to anyone that spent any amount of time around the program the past few years. Domestic assault charges aside, I cannot recall scouting a QB with more football character red flags than Francois.
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) February 3, 2019
This is some wild college football news on a day that we’re all supposed to be focused on just the Super Bowl. I would pay a lot of money to know what was the final straw that broke the camel’s back in this situation. (RELATED: The Patriots Will Face The Rams In The Super Bowl)
Generally speaking, the more talented you are as a player, the more you can get away with. Francois can absolutely ball out and is one of the best in the game when he’s healthy.
The good news for Francois is that I’m sure there will be plenty of teams willing to overlook any character issues and pick him up.
College football is all about winning. It’s about winning big games, winning bowl games and competing for a national title. When he’s on the top of his game, the dual-threat QB is capable of helping a team do all three.
We’ll have to see where he ends up, but I’m guessing he won’t be without a team for very long.