Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has a quarterback competition for the third time in four years.

But as the Seminoles began practice on Tuesday, he isn’t in a rush to select a starter.

Three years ago, Fisher announced Jameis Winston won the job 10 days before the opener. Last year, he cut it a little closer, waiting until the Monday before the opener in deciding on Everett Golson.

When it comes to deciding between Sean Maguire and Deondre Francois, Fisher doesn’t have a set timeframe leading into the Sept. 5 opener in Orlando against Ole Miss.

“You can’t make those processes go any faster. You have to let their development happen,” Fisher said. “I expect them to go out there and battle, and hopefully they’ll one-up each other every day. That means we’re getting better.”

Maguire has six career starts, but missed spring practices after breaking his ankle in the Peach Bowl loss to Houston. The 6-foot-3, 232-pound senior started five games last season and was able to consistently move the offense as he completed 59.3 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Maguire is also considered the sentimental favorite among fans and maybe his teammates for being able to bounce back after losing the preseason competition to Golson, who was a graduate transfer from Notre Dame and started eight of the first nine games.

During the portion of practice open to reporters, Maguire was taking almost all of the snaps with the first unit.

“It’s always nice to have a veteran back there. He knows the system inside out,” running back Dalvin Cook said.

Francois put himself into contention with a solid spring. During the spring game, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt freshman threw for 246 yards and a pair of touchdowns.