Sunday, April 12, 2015

Who Will Replace Jameis Winston
Reposted by Danny B Sports

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- There was no definitive performance Saturday afternoon. No Florida State quarterback won or lost the job in the Seminoles' spring game.
Sean Maguire made plays and also made mistakes against Florida State's first-team defense. Redshirt freshman JJ Cosentino and early enrollee De'Andre Johnson, meanwhile, showed flashes of brilliance, although it came against a depleted second-team defense that was often filled with twice as many walk-ons as scholarship players.
Nobody said the process of replacing a Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston would be easy. But Florida State fans saw enough to like from Maguire, Cosentino and Johnson to be optimistic going into the summer.
Maguire's day featured some good throws that led to scoring drives but also some ugly throws as he completed 22 of 44 passes for 289 yards and two interceptions for the Garnet squad, leading the first-team offense.
"We didn't play well around him early at times and he pressed a little bit," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. "The first pick (interception) we had a busted route, he broke and tried to come back and find somebody on the back side of it. Just go ahead and throw it away. Don't try to be a hero.
"Then he got in a groove and we were able to run the ball, we were catching the ball, getting the snaps down, he could make his reads."
Maguire certainly has some strong competition, although both Cosentino and Johnson have far less experience.
Cosentino completed 7 of 11 passes for 177 yards and a 65-yard touchdown pass to early enrollee receiver George Campbell for the Gold squad, which was the second-team offense. Despite wearing a bulky brace on his left knee, Cosentino showed good mobility and touch on his passes.
Johnson was 8 of 11 for 155 yards along with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ermon Lane and a 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mavin Saunders.
Another Florida State quarterback, John Franklin, did not get to show what he could offer Saturday, as he missed the last week of spring practice with a shoulder injury. Florida State also has a 2015 quarterback signee, Deondre Francois, who will arrive on campus this summer.
Though he did not throw a touchdown pass, Maguire led the Garnet on three scoring drives (of 10, six and then 11 plays) in the first half.
Maguire had his moments, finding Ja'Vonn Harrison for a 36-yard gain that set up a Dalvin Cook touchdown run in the second quarter. A drive later, Maguire found Jesus Wilson on a 32-yard reception as part of another touchdown drive.
He was 7 of 11 as he found his rhythm in the second quarter. But Maguire misfired often in the fourth quarter, completing just 6 of 19 passes for 58 yards and an interception.
"We had some drives where we definitely looked like a real great football team, and then we had some drives where we didn't," Maguire said. "Up-and-down was the definition of today."
Fisher said that Maguire was better in Florida State's two scrimmages this spring than he was Saturday.
"In both scrimmages I thought he played better than he did today," Fisher said. "I was really pleased up to the first half. I like to see a guy struggle a little, see how he's going to come back."
There was enough on the field Saturday to make Fisher happy, while also enough to frustrate him. All of them gained valuable experience this spring in a quarterback competition that clearly will go well into August.

No comments:

Post a Comment