Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois is a 12-1 bet in Las Vegas to win the Heisman Trophy this year.
While he may not be the favorite going into the season, the former Olympia High School and IMG Academy standout is arguably in the best position to out of all the top contenders to take home the coveted hardware.
Francois burst on the scene as a redshirt freshman in his first collegiate game, leading the Seminoles to a come-from-behind 45-34 win over Ole Miss in the 2016 season opener.
His 478 yards of total offense that night showed a glimpse into Francois’s potential.
With a year under his belt, Francois could make a major jump as a redshirt sophomore and may ascend to the rank of college football’s top player.
Here are five reasons why Francois is in prime position to be this year’s Heisman Trophy Winner:
5. Work Ethic
Francois has a reputation as a perfectionist who is willing to pay the price for success.
He proclaimed to reporters at FSU media day that his goal during practice is to focus on one thing to get better at each day.
Francois still has a lot of untapped potential, and his relentless commitment to improving on even the tiniest details will pay off as he continues to mature on the field.
As Francois alluded to during ACC media days, being good isn’t enough.
He wants to be great.
4. A New Tool in the Bag
Jimbo Fisher and the rest of the Seminoles coaching staff are raving about how much Francois has grown as a leader.
It’s easy to see how much more command he has of the huddle during practice, and the young quarterback seems to have grown exponentially in the confidence department heading into his second year as a starter.
There’s a charisma you notice during his interviews that wasn’t present last season, and you can tell his teammates respect him.
Francois speaks like a master of psychology when he details the importance of motivating different players in different ways.
He was a leader by example last year, but he’s added a much more vocal component to his leadership style this year.
This huge step forward will benefit both the Seminoles’ record and his Heisman candidacy.
3. Lessons Learned
Last season was pretty impressive overall for Francois, but he was mired with inconsistency.
He failed to reach 200 passing yards in four games and was a no-show in Louisville’s 63-20 beatdown of the ‘Noles when he went 7-18 for 101 yards (TD, INT).
Francois also found himself on the turf a ton after taking a beating behind a less-than-elite offensive line.
All of those experiences have only made him a better player.
Francois had to learn on the job as a redshirt freshman, and the knowledge you can only gain from experience is now his to put into practice.
Francois always got up when he was knocked down, both figuratively and literally, and all of those growing pains have made him hungry to rise up and become a consistent force.
2. Opportunity Knocks
None of the contenders for the Heisman has more of an opportunity to come through on the big stage than FSU’s young QB.
The best way to get on the Heisman voters’ good side is by etching epic performances in their mind.
Francois will be playing in plenty of high-profile games they will be watching, as the ‘Noles play five teams who are ranked in the preseason coaches’ poll (1. Alabama, 5. Clemson, 16. Florida, 17. Louisville, 18. Miami).
That means head-to-head matchups against other Heisman contenders like Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and the Alabama duo of Bo Scarbrough and Jalen Hurts.
In addition, he’ll get to make a splash in high profile games both at the beginning and end of the season.
The showdown with top-ranked ‘Bama is being hyped as the biggest opening game in college football history.
It will serve as an immediate opportunity for Francois to become the early favorite.
Then he’ll get to play Clemson, Florida, and potentially in an ACC championship game (perhaps a rematch with Miami?) in three of the final four games of the season.
The key, obviously, will be playing at a Heisman-worthy level in all of the big games.
That’s easier said than done, but opportunity knocks if Francois is ready to step to the plate.
In addition, he has the opportunity that comes with the graduation of Dalvin Cook to be the clear focal point of the Seminoles offense.
That could mean big numbers.
Francois threw for a respectable 3,350 yards with 20 passing touchdowns and 7 interceptions last season and ran for five more touchdowns.
It wouldn’t be a big surprise to see him eclipse 4,000 passing yards with 40+ total touchdowns while increasing his rushing numbers (just 198 yards last year).
1. Shining in the Limelight
Opportunity doesn’t necessarily mean success, but Francois showed us as a redshirt freshman that he’s usually in peak form when his team needs him most.
We already detailed how impressive he was in the comeback win over 11th ranked Ole Miss, but that wasn’t the only huge game he played like a champ in.
Francois had a flare for the dramatic, too, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass with 36 seconds left in an upset win over 6th ranked Michigan in the Orange Bowl.
He also engineered a game-winning fourth quarter drives to beat 10th ranked Miami and NC State.
Francois would have had two more game-winning drives against North Carolina (372 pass yards) and eventual national champion (286 pass yards, TD, INT) if the FSU defense could have finished the job for him.
Expect that kind of big game magic again in 2017.
All of the above factors combined with some Francois crunch time success against elite competition are the formula to a Heisman Trophy for him.
Now, it’s time to get to work.