NFL Free Agent HUB Report: Deondre Francois
DEONDRE FRANCOIS | School: Hampton/Florida State | Position: QB | Height: 6015v | Weight: 215v | Hand: 0958v | Arm: 3348v | Wingspan: 7828v | Age: 24 | Agent: Nodirbek S Talipov
Evaluation:
Wore No.24 at HUB Football (April/2021). Average size QB that showed he had an NFL arm, with arm strength and touch to make all the throws on the field. He showed very good set up quickness with very good balance and base. You see his coaching in every rep, he is very consistent in his mechanics. He has very good lower body strength and knows how to generate velocity from his footwork through his hips. Velocity is consistent, same from stand still in the pocket of rolling out. He delivers very receiver friendly balls, throws are often up field shoulder and chest level making them easy to catch. He throws the deep out on a rope and dropped the vertical routes in the basket over the outside shoulder where only the receiver could get it. Good AA and throwing on the move mechanics. This is a player that could be a backup NFL QB who could develop into a starter with time and coaching. Would be a CFL starter rather quickly, once he learns the nuances of the game.
Background:
When Francois was a young child, he moved numerous times bouncing back and forth from Miami to Orlando. His mother Janice moved him and his family from Little Haiti, a neighborhood of Miami, to Orlando for a better life around the 4th grade where he first started playing football at the age of nine for the Orlando Outlaws with his godfather, Barry White. Francois attended Olympia High School in Orlando, Florida his first three years of high school and transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida his senior year. From 2012 to 2013 at Olympia, he passed for 3,162 yards and 28 touchdowns for the football team. As a senior, he passed for 1,488 yards with 18 touchdowns. Francois was considered a four-star recruit and committed to Florida State University to play college football. Francois redshirted his first year at Florida State in 2015. Francois competed with Sean Maguire for the starting quarterback job in 2016. After Maguire suffered an injury, Francois was considered the favorite to start the season opener. On September 5, 2016, Francois made his first collegiate start against the Ole Miss Rebels. Francois passed for 419 yards and two touchdowns, leading the way on a 22-point comeback victory, the largest comeback in Florida State football history. He would be the quarterback for the rest of the season. The Seminoles finished the season 10–3, 5–3 in ACC play, to finish in second place in the Atlantic Division. They were invited to the 2016 Orange Bowl, where they defeated the Michigan Wolverines. On September 2, 2017, in the Seminoles first game of the year, Francois injured his patellar tendon and missed the remainder of the 2017 season. Francois returned to the starting role in 2018. On February 3, 2019, it was announced that Francois had been removed from the Florida State football program after a video of a domestic dispute between him and his girlfriend surfaced on social media. On May 20, 2019, it was announced that Francois would attempt to walk-on at Florida Atlantic; however, this never materialized. On August 2, 2019, it was announced that Francois had completed a graduate transfer to Hampton and would be immediately eligible for the upcoming season. In December 2020, Francois signed with Fan Controlled Football. In his first FCF playoff appearance, Francois threw for 5-8 on 91 yards for four touchdowns and rushing on two attempts for 37 yards and one touchdown for a total of 5 touchdowns, leading the Glacier Boyz to the first-ever People's Championship in a 38-20 win.
