James Blackman

James Blackman (born November 14, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Orlando Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and Arkansas State. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL draft.

Early life Blackman played high school football at Glades Central High School in Belle Glade, Florida.

College career Blackman committed to Florida State over offers from West Virginia and Louisville. He became the starting quarterback after Deondre Francois suffered a season-ending injury during the season opener against Alabama. Blackman became the first true freshman starting quarterback at FSU since Chip Ferguson in 1985. Despite the Seminoles being down 2–5 at one point in the season, Blackman was able to lead the team to a 6–6 record and an appearance in the 2017 Independence Bowl against Southern Mississippi. During the game, he threw four touchdown passes (three to Auden Tate and one to Cam Akers), setting an Independence Bowl record and netted the Offensive MVP.

On November 11, 2020, head coach Mike Norvell announced James Blackman was no longer with the team and was looking to transfer. He transferred to Arkansas State in January 2021.

Statistics SeasonTeam Games Passing Rushing 2017 Florida State 13 12 7–5 173 297 58.2 2,230 7.5 19 11 135.0 65 −36 −0.6 0 2018 Florida State 4 1 0–1 33 51 64.7 510 10.0 5 1 177.1 11 −26 −2.4 0 2019 Florida State 12 10 4–6 184 292 63.0 2,339 8.0 17 11 142.0 68 41 0.6 1 2020 Florida State 4 2 0–2 43 76 56.6 366 4.8 2 3 97.8 18 −11 −0.6 0 2021 Arkansas State 6 5 1–4 109 183 59.6 1,344 7.3 8 4 131.3 32 −39 −1.2 0 2022 Arkansas State 11 11 3–8 223 347 64.3 2,471 7.1 14 3 135.7 61 −120 −2.0 3 Career 50 41 15–26 765 1,246 61.4 9,260 7.4 65 33 135.7 255 -191 -0.7 4

Professional career

Miami Dolphins On April 29, 2023, Blackman signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent. He was waived by the Dolphins on August 7. Blackman was re-signed by the Dolphins on August 21. Blackman was then waived again as a part of final roster cuts on August 28.

Orlando Pirates On April 2, 2026, Blackman signed with the Orlando Pirates of the Indoor Football League (IFL).