Florida State QB Sean Maguire was recruited in the same class as Jameis Winston
Unless you're a big Florida State fan, you're probably unfamiliar with Florida State QB Sean Maguire who is making his first career start Saturday night in place of the suspended Jameis Winston.
If you remember Maguire's name, it's probably from last November and December. With the uncertainty that surrounded Jameis Winston at the time of the investigation into sexual assault accusations against him, Maguire, who was FSU's third-string QB at the beginning of the year, would have started the ACC Championship Game for the Seminoles if Winston was unable to play.
WInston played in the game after Florida state attorney Willie Meggs didn't press charges against him citing a lack of evidence in the case. Maguire had become WInston's primary backup in early November after Jacob Coker had knee surgery. Coker transferred after the season and is now at Alabama.
Maguire was a three-star recruit in the class of 2012 according to Rivals. He played high school football at Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey and was the No. 26 QB in the class. Winston was the No. 1 QB recruit in the same class and the No. 10 prospect overall.
“They kind of fell in love with him and he looked the part,” Rivals.com recruiting director Mike Farrell told the Orlando Sentinel about Maguire. “Mechanically he was OK, his arm strength was solid. There wasn’t anything that flew off the charts. He was clunky because of that offense they run. He didn’t get an opportunity to throw that often.
“Schools came by late in the process, but nothing crazy. There was a huge drop off from Florida State to the next substantial offer, so it was kind of confusing.”
Like Winston, Maguire redshirted in 2012.
In 2013, Maguire was 13-21 for 116 yards. He threw his first career TD pass to TE Nick O'Leary, his roommate.
Maguire didn't take a snap in FSU's 37-31 win against Oklahoma State in the 2014 season opener. He played in the Seminoles' second game of the season against Citadel, completing 3-5 passes for 28 yards.
"You don't wish bad things upon anyone," Maguire said via Warchant.com. "But he said the same thing to me, 'It's a blessing for you to get to go out there and play with the team.' So maybe you could look at it that way. But I don't like to look at it (like that)."
After his post-suspension press conference, Winston said he'd sit down and work with Maguire to prepare for Clemson. Maguire said he was ready for the challenge and had been looking forward to his first college start since he was a kid.
"It's going to pretty awesome, I'd like to imagine," Maguire said. "I've pictured this since I started playing little league ball, get an opportunity like this. I don't know if it gets much better than this."
For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
