Seems like the Bucs are taking the necessary precautions before committing to Jameis Winston and making him #1.
The battle for the number 1 draft pick title seems to be wavering in favor of Jameis Winston. Head Coach Lovie Smith, has spoken out about being comfortable with making him the face of the franchise and now it seems they are reaching out to Winston’s college coach, Jimbo Fisher. According to NFL.com, the Bucs have been asking some very important character questions to Fisher to make sure drafting him won’t be a mistake. Jimbo Fisher believes in his winning QB and spoke about the growth he’s seen in him.
“Jameis’ problem, if you really research and really get down to the nuts and bolts of what actually went wrong — with him standing on the table and the crab leg incident — when you walk out of a place with a deputy sheriff beside you, it was not intent,” Fisher said. “It was a mental lapse. What Jameis does, which is very unique and a lot of people follow him — he was just being a normal student. He was trying to do what the other kids around him were [doing], and it was very immature.
“It was an immature thing to do, not an intentional thing to do with malice. He sees himself with everybody. He doesn’t put himself above everybody; that’s why, I think, people flock to him, and his leadership is such a big deal. Because he is a genuine, honest people person, and he gets caught up. I think he understood that. It was a moment of him being 19 years old and making a critical mistake. But I think those mistakes are very easily corrected. Character issues are different, and I don’t think he has those.”
“He is a guy that learns from mistakes,” Fisher said. “You watch him on the football field, you watch him in life — he is a highly, highly intelligent guy. He learns from mistakes about as well as anybody.”
Jameis Winston may not have character issues does have to grow up and assume responsibility. The mistakes he’s made in college won’t be tolerated in the NFL. I think Lovie Smith would be a great “hands-on” coach who can bring Winston into his maturity and show how great of a QB/teammate he can be. Fisher was very hands on with Winston, thats something that needs to be continued with a kid who might have a “mental lapse” from time to time. Will Winston grow up? Of course, he will; everyone does. Its just harder to grow up in the spotlight where people’s judgement can hurt you more than help. Winston has to focus. Being the number 1 draft pick is no easy title to have and maturity is no longer an option.