Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois is reportedly out for the season with a patella injury. He suffered the injury late in a loss to No. 1 Alabama on Saturday.
Deondre Francois is out for the year. Here’s how his NCAA eligibility situation looks
FSU’s quarterback could get a medical hardship waiver, but the NCAA’s five-year rule might limit him.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Francois is a redshirt sophomore this year, having made his on-field debut in 2016. Because his injury occurred so soon in the year, he’s a prime candidate for a medical redshirt (or “hardship waiver”) if he applies for one with the NCAA.
That could mean Francois redshirts twice, and it might set him up for a six-year college career, if he doesn’t turn pro before that. A potential difficulty, though, is the NCAA’s “five-year rule,” which says players need to finish their four years of competition within five calendar years of enrolling. Because Francois’ first redshirt wasn’t due to an injury, he might not be able to secure a waiver to extend his career the extra year. That’s the wall Notre Dame’s Jamoris Slaughter ran into a couple of years ago.
The technical term for an academic redshirt is a “hardship waiver.” That’s what the NCAA can grant players who miss significant time due to injury. Here’s how a football player can qualify for an extra year of competition, per the NCAA’s Division I manual:
In team sports, the injury or illness occurs when the student-athlete has not participated in more than three contests or dates of competition (whichever is applicable to that sport) or 30 percent (whichever number is greater) of the institution’s scheduled or completed contests or dates of competition in his or her sport.
In the meantime, true freshman James Blackman is likely FSU’s QB. More on him:
Blackman, a four-star quarterback on Rivals and 247 and a three-star on ESPN and Scout, grades out as a three-star QB on 247Sports’ composite rankings. He rates as the No. 391 overall prospect, the No. 18 pro-style quarterback, and the No. 51 player from Florida in the 2017 recruiting class.
His 6’5 frame is ideal for the quarterback position and something that current starter Deondre Francois lacks. However, his most recent recorded weight of 195 pounds is far too low and will surely be an early goal of the training staff once he arrives on campus. Blackman, hailing from Bella Glade (Fla.) Glades Central, earned his Florida State offer after he impressed the coaching staff at a Jimbo Fisher Camp session last July. A few weeks later on Aug. 3 of 2016, Blackman announced his commitment to FSU. He made no visits to Tallahassee over the 2016 season and was rumored to be in talks for a potential visit to West Virginia before an in-home visit from co-offensive coordinators Randy Sanders and Lawrence Dawsey caused Blackman to shut down his recruitment and stand by his pledge to FSU on January 16th, just days after his official visit to Florida State concluded.
h/t Twitter user @jcronin2, who alerted me to Francois’ five-year rule problem.
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