Replacing a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback is never easy and that looks to be one of the bigger challenges facing Florida State in 2015. The Jameis Winston era is over and the line of signal-callers hoping to succeed him isn’t exactly a short one.
Sean Maguire, a redshirt junior, will enter the 2015 season as the favorite to win the starting job for Jimbo Fisher’s team, but the play of J.J. Consentino and De’Andre Johnson in the spring game have at least made the competition more interesting. While the quarterback competition will certainly be a hot topic of conversation, the Seminoles may want to consider playing more than just one.
On the surface, this seems like a viable option for Florida State since its quarterbacks have different strengths. Maguire and Consentino are each much more regarded for their passing prowess than for their athleticism, but Johnson and incoming freshman Deondre Francois each have the ability to make plays with their legs as well.
Should Maguire or Consentino for that matter, win the starting job, a special package full of option and zone-read looks for either Johnson or Francois might be something the Seminoles can utilize.
When it comes to playing multiple quarterbacks, it can be either a luxury or an absolute disaster. Looking back at Florida State’s predicament with Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee in 2006 and 2007, it was more so the latter, but that isn’t always the case.
In 2004, Louisville went 11-1 and finished ranked sixth nationally while starting lefty Stefan Lefors and giving Brian Brohm at least one series at quarterback in the first half every game. In 2006, Florida won the national championship utilizing Tim Tebow’s running ability in certain situations rather than having starter Chris Leak take every snap. LSU did likewise the following season by having the mobile Ryan Perrilloux spell starter Matt Flynn.
With Winston almost certain to become the third FSU quarterback to be taken in the first round of the NFL Draft in five years, it’s something Fisher has not had to seriously consider at Florida State. Christian Ponder and E.J. Manuel were each very fleet-footed while Winston was the type of talent one wouldn’t want to take off the field.
While playing multiple quarterbacks hasn’t been commonplace for Fisher at Florida State, it’s not something brand new to the sixth-year head coach.
As the offensive coordinator at LSU in 2004, Fisher gave time to both Jamarcus Russell and Week 1 starter Marcus Randall. In his first year as a coordinator in Tallahassee, Fisher experimented with a special package for D’Vontrey Richardson and with Manuel injured early in 2011, Fisher even had running back Chris Thompson take snaps from the shotgun against Clemson while freshman quarterback Clint Trickett made his first career start.
Given Fisher’s proven track record with quarterbacks, it will be difficult to question any decision the FSU head man makes, but the prospect of playing more than one is certainly an intriguing one. Some have said that when it comes to quarterbacks, “if you have two, you don’t have one”, but for FSU right now, the possibility of playing two capable signal-callers with different skill-sets seems to be more along the lines of a “good problem to have”.
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