FSU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Walt Bell discusses what he wants in a QB

The battle for the Florida State starting quarterback is sure to dominate the Seminoles’ offseason. Fans and media members alike will make their cases for sophomore James Blackman and redshirt-sophomore Deondre Francois, each of whom has a season under his belt as FSU’s QB1. That said, new ’Nole OC and QB coach Walt Bell laid out the criteria for which he’s looking at a recent coaches clinic— and a Tomahawk Nation contributor (who prefers to remain anonymous) was there.

First, there are the requisite qualities, the baseline abilities that a signal-caller has to possess for Bell, and those are listed below.

Terms like “limit, “simple,” “concise,” and “small,” along with a phrase like “less is more” really seem to emphasize the “lethal simplicity” for which head coach Willie Taggart has called. Notice that 60% of the decision-making category is allocated to minimization. There’s also a stress placed on realizing who a QB really is— and is not.

Which brings us to quarterback traits, the personal attributes for which Bell is looking, as well as those he’d rather avoid.

These traits underscore an offense built around its quarterback, not the head coach’s ego. There’s a reliable consistency called for as a baseline, but also an onus on the staff to taylor the offense to the QB, and not the other way around.

So, now that we know what Bell wants, the question is obvious: which Florida State QB checks the most boxes?