By Kelly Kultys
How many people does it take to keep a quarterback on the field? Well, in the case of Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, quite a few. It really shouldn’t be this difficult, as Winston should be America’s golden boy. He’s a two-sport athlete, Heisman award-winning National Champion quarterback who has never lost a game at FSU. He even led his team to an impressive comeback victory against Notre Dame on Saturday night. But, despite all that, the 20 year old, who has plans to declare for the NFL draft after this season, still needed one of his protectors, head coach Jimbo Fisher, to tell him how to behave.
According to AP Sports writer Tim Reynolds, Fisher embraced his quarterback and said, “Now here’s what you’ve got to do. Calm down. Don’t give them that over-exuberant look. Act very passive right here and get people back on your side. You understand what I’m telling you? Humble. Humble pie.”
In just those few words, Fisher displayed the extraordinary effort it takes to keep his key to success on the field. Last year’s title alone took the help of many. The Tallahassee police department completely mishandled an investigation of Winston for sexual assault, and Winston’s lawyers managed to clear those charges. Securing the title needed FSU — specifically, the athletic department — to help. They paid to fix the windows the football team had damaged at Winston’s apartment complex and didn’t contact Winston about the sexual assault allegations until after they secured the national title, almost a year after the accuser filed a complaint with the police.
This year’s effort to keep Winston playing hasn’t been as elaborate, but it still involved the police and university officials. When Winston shoplifted over $30 worth of crab legs, he was suspended from his other sport, baseball, until he completed the mandated community service. And, no one can forget the game ban he received for screaming obscenities in a cafeteria earlier this season. That was originally supposed to just be a ban for half the game, until the footage was made public and the school faced heated outrage.
If that wasn’t enough, there are current rumors that Winston received compensation for signed memorabilia, which recently surfaced online. I think we know how that “investigation” is going to turn out.
With the help of the Tallahassee police department, Florida State University, the support of the fans and head coach Jimbo Fisher, it looks like Winston will be able to complete his second NCAA season so long as he smiles and acts like “humble pie” to win the public back on his side.
Ironically, just minutes later in his postgame interview with ESPN, Fisher illustriously described his football program: “There’s character, there’s heart, there’s a team full of great kids. This is a high character program that’s ran the right way — on class, on dignity, in the classroom, off the field and on the field.”
Well, let’s just say there’s a “character” off the field. That’s for sure.