For those concerned that a stick & ball sport will have a negative impact on Jameis Winston‘s “real” sport, your fears have been allayed this afternoon.
At his pre-spring press conference Wednesday, head coach Jimbo Fisher said the reigning Heisman Trophy winner will miss just one of Florida State’s 15 spring practice sessions, which began this afternoon. That lone absence will come this coming Saturday as the baseball Seminoles have a game scheduled against ACC rival Clemson.
Other than that, Winston will be on the field as FSU begins its first on-field work since claiming the 2013 BCS title this past January.
Winston is FSU’s closer as well as a designated hitter. The 17-2 Seminoles are currently ranked first in the country by NCAA.com and second behind South Carolina by Baseball America. For his part, Winston says he will enjoy pulling sports double-duty for the next handful of weeks.
“This is the funnest part of my life right now because I am so busy,” Winston said. “I love going back and forth between football and baseball. ...
“Communication around FSU is great. I never have to worry about splitting my time between two sports. It runs smoothly.”
Last year around this time, Winston was embarking on what would initially be a four-man quarterback competition in spring practice, even as most viewed the former five-star prospect as the prohibitive favorite to win the job. Interestingly, Fisher stated this afternoon that Winston will take the same number of reps he took last spring, which means the other players vying to become Winston’s understudy will get their fair share of snaps this spring.
The impetus behind Fisher’s decision for reps at the position is likely a product of the departure of Jacob Coker, Winston’s backup in 2013 who announced earlier this year he would be transferring to Alabama. With precious little experience behind Winston, Fisher and his offensive coaching staff are no doubt looking to get as many practice reps as possible for the younger players.
While the volume of Winston’s reps may pale in comparison to other starters around the country, the quarterback says there are still things he wants to work on football-wise this spring.
“I always want to get better,” the redshirt sophomore said. “I need to get the ball up higher and work on my hips and if I can do that I’m going to throw rockets.”
In other pre-spring news, Fisher also confirmed yesterday’s report that running back Dalvin Cook will miss the whole of spring practice. The touted five-star recruit suffered a torn labrum in what was described as a freak accident earlier this month.