Meet Deondre Francois, the Heir to Jameis Winston's Throne

The future of the Florida State football program is nothing like Jameis Winston, and he's everything like Jameis Winston.

The young man's name is Deondre Francois, and you can find him behind the gates of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Francois has many of the same tools on the field that made Winston a Heisman winner, national champion and potential top pick in this year's draft, but they're kept in a very different box off the field.

"He's a good player," Francois says of Winston. "But I like to play my own game, have my own swag."

Where Winston is outspoken and brash, Francois is soft-spoken and matter-of-fact, rarely raising his voice more than a few decibels above a murmur. But the 6'1", 195-pound quarterback's words, and more importantly his game, carry weight.

Francois will not hesitate to say he is the man for the job in Tallahassee, regardless of who is on the depth chart. He doesn't say it brashly, but with confidence and no fear of whether it will make other quarterbacks on the Florida State roster dislike him.

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"I don't think they like me," Francois told the Orlando Sentinel in late December, "but that's just what comes with competition."

IMG wide receiver K.J. Osborn has grown accustomed to Francois' matter-of-fact way of communicating.

"He's always telling me, 'Get out of your break faster,' or, 'Why you running so slow,'" Osborn told Bleacher Report. "I tell him, 'We not running slow. You just throw far.'"

Anything you can do, I can do better

Winston was an unusual case at Florida State. Most quarterbacks take a while to pick up Jimbo Fisher's complex pro-style offense, but Winston grasped it almost instantly. His football IQ is considered the highest in this year's draft, and QB guru George Whitfield Jr. has said Winston is every bit as sharp as Andrew Luck. It is something Francois notices when he looks at film of the 2013 Heisman winner.

"I see he expects perfection from his wide receivers and his line," Francois said. "He's calm in the pocket. I like the way he sees the field. He has good vision. I can tell by how he plays the game, he can see the whole field."

According to IMG head coach Chris Weinke, Francois possesses the same processing ability.

"Against Clearwater Central Catholic (Fla.), at the snap I thought he should go somewhere else with it, but he ended up making an outstanding touchdown pass to T.J. Chase," the former Seminole Heisman winner said. "When he came off the field, I said, 'Why did you throw it there?' He said, 'I saw the leverage on the corner, and I knew that T.J. was gonna get by him.' I said, 'Well, what about the crossing route that came wide open right across your face?' He said, 'I know that was there. I could see it, but I wanted to take a shot, and I knew that I had it.'"

"I know I can trust him," Osborn said. "I'm not gonna be set up [for a big hit], I know the ball is going to be where it needs to be, and I know he's not gonna throw six interceptions."

Weinke knew what he had when Francois transferred from Orlando's Olympia High School in 2013. He's had a reputation as a special player for a long time.

Courtesy of IMG Academy

"When I first got to high school, I compared my arm strength to all of the quarterbacks that were older than me," Francois said. "I felt like I was better as a freshman."

The rest of Central Florida also noticed the talent, but it was Weinke who taught Francois how to harness it into the full package. He showed Francois all the nuances of quarterbacking, how to throw with more accuracy, how to identify the holes in complex defensive sets, how to throw with different speeds and arcs so he can fit it over linebackers and in front of the secondary.

Most importantly, Weinke taught Francois an offense similar to the complex pro-style offense Jimbo Fisher runs at Florida State.

Coming-out party

The full package was on display during the Under Armour All-America Game in early January. Francois spent a majority of the game running read-option and handing off the ball. However, he took advantage of his limited opportunities in the air, going 4-of-4 for 103 yards and one touchdown—and two wow moments.

In his first series, he stepped up in the pocket and threw a 60-yard bomb that dropped right into the hands of his roommate for the weekend, George Campbell, also a Seminole recruit. The very next play was a 30-yard touchdown pass to former Pop Warner teammate and Clemson-bound Garrett Williams.

Francois almost instantly made a fan of his coach for the week, Herm Edwards, who said he could tell the future Florida State signal-caller was especially polished after only two practices.

"He was a little step above everyone else as far as footwork, ball security, where to have the ball to get it out of his hands," Edwards said. "He had good vision coverage. When he saw it, he knew where to go with the ball. He didn't force a lot of things where he didn't need to and made some plays with his legs."

Edwards also coached Winston in the Under Armour game and had this to say about how Francois compares to the Heisman Trophy winner.

"He's not as big—Jameis is huge," Edwards said. "He's probably a quicker-footed guy...but his release point isn't as high. You want quarterbacks with poise and confidence. You could just tell right away, the game's not too big for him. Some guys you can just tell when the lights come on and they play good."

Cool under pressure

Most kids would be nervous for their first high school start. In Francois' first one, as a sophomore at Olympia, he threw for an astounding 358 yards and two touchdowns while flashing uncommon calm that led the Orlando Sentinel to declare, "It takes a lot to get Deondre Francois riled up."

Courtesy of IMG Academy

Those who know him are quick to compliment him for that poise. Edwards said it was the biggest thing that separated him from the other quarterbacks at the Under Armour game. Weinke discovered it firsthand during what may have been Francois' only moment of on-field adversity at IMG: the second game this past season, when he threw four interceptions and IMG got trounced 35-2.

"There were some frustrating moments," Weinke said. "[Francois] made some good throws that weren't caught and had some interceptions."

But Francois didn't let the adversity affect him and continued to battle.

"That game was probably the true indicator that we have something special here," Weinke said. "Even though he was obviously frustrated after the game, the first thing he wanted to do is [ask himself], 'Hey, what can I do to get better?'"

That poise was on display again in late January in an incident that set the recruiting world on fire for a couple of hours.

Francois was walking back to his dorm when his phone blew up. When he checked his Twitter account, he read, "I'm officially decommitting from the university of Florida State." But he says he didn't type it. He immediately deleted the tweet and reset his password, extinguishing the blaze with a strong message:

Then, as sports media everywhere scrambled to confirm or deny the potential bombshell tweet, Francois took a nap.

When asked where his poise comes from, Francois did not hesitate with an answer.

"I grew up with a single mom," Francois said. "She raised me well."

The journey continues

Francois may have gained notoriety in Orlando, but he planted his roots in Miami. He grew up at his grandparents' house, under the guidance of his three quarterbacking uncles, all of whom parlayed stardom at Miramar High School into Division I scholarships. He admired uncle Patrick Julmiste, quarterback at USF, the most.

"He'd have the football, bring it home from school. I'd have it in my hand, and it would be so big," Francois said. "I had to go on YouTube and look up Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and [Aaron] Rodgers and how to throw a football. Then I'd grab a can of yams and do the same motion. As soon as I got a football in my hand, it was all natural."

He moved to Orlando with his mother permanently in the seventh grade. He experienced continued football success through his sophomore year at Olympia. After a new coaching hire and some graduations led to a tough junior season, it was time for a change. That led him to IMG, seemingly an athlete's paradise.

He transferred shortly before finals and got a crash course in the life of a student-athlete.

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"Wake up about 6:45 and eat breakfast. From 7:30 to 12:30, I'd have class," Francois said. "Eat lunch at 1:00. Go to dorm and relax from 2:15 to 3:40. Team meetings and individual meeting. Then practice until 6:45. Then I thought my day was done, but it really wasn't. After practice, I'd have to get dinner, then go to tutoring from about 7:30 to 9:00. Our curfew is 10, so I'd only have an hour to socialize, then I'd have to go back to my dorm and do homework again until I go to sleep around [midnight]."

There were times when Francois questioned his decision. Was all of this sacrifice and time away from his family worth it?

"Sometimes I think it wasn't, but it really was," Francois said. "I learned that me doing the right things, it's going to pay off in the future. And I knew that me keeping my grades up and studying the playbook, that I would be happy with my decision coming here. I'm already ready for college. When I get there, I sure won't be homesick."

He won't have time to be. This is football, and just like the bounce of the oblong-shaped ball, anything can happen. There will be seven quarterbacks on the Florida State roster in the fall, including incumbents Sean Maguire and J.J. Cosentino. Even Winston redshirted as a freshman.

That said, perhaps the biggest challenger to Francois will be 2016 commit Malik Henry. The California recruit is the second-ranked dual-threat quarterback in his class, according to Rivals.com, and at least an inch taller.

While admitting he was shocked when he heard Henry committed, Francois said he is not concerned about someone who won't be in college until next year. His mindset was clear while watching the end of the Rose Bowl in a room full of Florida State recruits. While everyone else grew a little agitated during the demoralizing second half, Francois was thinking, "I can't wait to get there."

Quiet and direct. Doesn't sound much like the next Jameis Winston. But that might be just what he is.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.