Tallahassee police conducted surveillance on Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois for two months, operating on a tip that he was selling marijuana, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
A raid of the player's apartment on Thursday yielded less than an ounce of marijuana. Francois, who is recuperating from a torn patellar tendon in his left knee, was not arrested. He was cited with misdemeanor possession and given the chance to enter a pre-trial diversion program and pay a fine.
According to the newspaper, Francois told police the marijuana belonged to his girlfriend and that the last time he used marijuana was in December 2017.
Francois is expected to be the Seminoles' starter next season. Florida State coach Willie Taggart told the newspaper that he had met with Francois following the incident.
"He's still with our football team," Taggart said Saturday. "We talked about his responsibility as a student-athlete here, and he understands my expectations and what I'm looking for, especially when it comes to our quarterback."
The newspaper reported that the Tallahassee Police Department received a tip from someone at a drug crime scene that he had seen a grocery bag full of marijuana at Francois' apartment.
The police collected Francois' garbage four times between the end of February and the beginning of April. Based on what police found in the garbage, they obtained a search warrant and conducted the raid on Thursday.
The police department said it found in the garbage and in Francois' apartment some plastic bags with cannabis residue, innards of blunt cigars, a grinder, an instant drug test cup and three vials of pain medication.
Francois must do community service and avoid any criminal activity for a designated time as part of the diversion program.
"He's got to be smart about who he's around and what he's around, and make good decisions," Taggart said. "I advise him to just make sure he's around his teammates all the time."