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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State quarterback Sean Maguire has a broken bone in his right foot, putting freshman Deondre Francois in position to open the season as the starter.
Coach Jimbo Fisher revealed the injury Saturday after the team's practice, saying Maguire broke the bone Wednesday. The injury wasn't known until Friday when the senior felt discomfort toward the end of practice.
Maguire is in a walking boot and Fisher said a screw will be inserted into the foot Monday. Fisher also said it is likely that the 6-foot-3, 232-pound senior would miss 3-4 weeks and could be ready to return by the Seminoles' second game against Charleston Southern on Sept. 10. Florida State opens the season Sept. 5 in Orlando against Mississippi.
"He was sad about it but there was no hesitation from him on quickly getting it fixed and coming back as soon as possible," Fisher said about Maguire.
It is Maguire's second injury in less than nine months. He missed spring practices after having surgery for a broken left ankle suffered in the Peach Bowl loss to Houston. Maguire started five games of the final six games last season and was able to consistently move the offense as he completed 59.3 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Francois put himself into contention for the starting spot with a solid spring and threw a pair of touchdowns in the spring game. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt freshman ran the scout team last season but was considered by many recruiting services to be the nation's top dual threat quarterback in the 2015 recruiting class.
Francois' potential and athleticism as a running and passing quarterback has drawn comparisons to former Florida State standout Jameis Winston.
"Eyeballs are going to be on him anyway so not one thing changes," Fisher said of Francois. "He has had some good and some bad practices. He is right about where I thought he would be. He started practices as the co-starting number one, so I must feel pretty good about him."
A bigger concern for Fisher would be who steps in if Francois was injured. J.J. Cosentino has seen limited action and struggled in the Peach Bowl while true freshman Malik Henry was an early enrollee but hasn't worked with the first unit.
This would be the second time in four years a redshirt freshman has started at QB for the Seminoles. In 2013, Winston won the Heisman and led them to the school's third national championship after a 13-0 season.
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