In the final quarter of FSU football‘s opener to the 2017 season against the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Seminoles saw their entire season change when their starting quarterback Deondre Francois – who had been one of the top first year starters the season before – went down with a nasty knee injury that sidelined him for the entire year.
Into the starting lineup came James Blackman, a true freshman who was the size of a tooth pick and had been playing high school football less than a year before – but who grew as the season went on and finished with decent numbers for a true freshman while helping the Seminoles keep their bowl and winning season streaks alive.