Quarterback Deondre Francois is expected to start for Florida State in Saturday night’s matchup against No. 3 Notre Dame.
Francis missed last week’s loss to North Carolina State due to a concussion but will be good to go against the undefeated Fighting Irish (9-0), the Tallahassee Democrat reported, citing a source.
Sophomore James Blackman started in place of Francois last weekend and earned ACC quarterback of the week honors after throwing for 421 yards and four touchdowns in the 47-28 loss to the Wolfpack.
Both quarterbacks split first-team repetitions this week but Seminoles coach Willie Taggart told Francois after Friday’s practice that he will get the start against North Dame, according to the newspaper.
Francois started the first eight games for Florida State. He has thrown for 2,039 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 60.9 percent of his passes.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Francois was only 17 of 36 for 180 yards and an interception before he suffered the concussion in the 59-10 drubbing by No. 2 Clemson on Oct. 27. He had thrown 10 scoring passes against only two picks in his previous four games.
Francois missed most of last year after suffering a season-ending knee injury in Florida State’s 2017 opener against Alabama.
As a freshman in 2016, Francois had 18 TD passes and six interceptions while going 10-3, capping the season with a 33-32 Orange Bowl win against Michigan.
