Florida State quarterback Sean Maguire out four weeks with bone spur in right foot

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

There was a surprising update in the Florida State quarterback battle at Saturday’s practice as redshirt senior signal caller Sean Maguire was in a boot. After practice, Jimbo Fisher confirmed that Maguire is out with a bone spur in his right foot, the same injury which Derwin James recently suffered, which will require him to miss four weeks. Jimbo Fisher expects that he will be healthy by week two or three.

With Maguire now out, the heir apparent at QB, at least for the first game of the 2016 season, seems clear in the form of redshirt freshman Deondre Francois. Francois had taken over first-team reps ahead of Maguire over the last few practices and is now a runaway favorite to land the job. Although Fisher did name Francois as the leader at this time, he did not go so far as to name him the starter for the first game of the season yet.

Still, Fisher conceded that Francois will receive the majority of the first-team quarterback reps until another person proves himself.

Although few were projecting Maguire to start against Ole Miss on September 5th, the injury delivers a major blow to the Seminoles’ quarterback depth. Should he be named the starter, Francois will be supported in the season opener by redshirt sophomore J.J. Cosentino, who has looked severely out of place in his limited in-game reps with the first team, and Malik Henry, a talented hurler with significant upside who is, admittedly, a true freshman.

Fisher made sure to state after practice that Henry and Cosentino are “getting better” but they will likely pose little threat to Francois seizing the starting spot on September 5th.

Francois’ first chance to impress will be a big one on Sunday afternoon when he takes the field for the Seminoles’ sole practice of fall which is open to the public inside Doak Campbell Stadium. The practice is slated to begin at 4:30.