Former Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher appeared on Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take” podcast and spoke on the character of his Heisman Trophy and national championship-winning quarterback, Jameis Winston.
According to Fisher, Winston was the exact opposite of a locker room cancer.
“He spent as much time with every walk-on on our team as he did every starter. He knew the equipment guys, he knew the janitors, he knew everybody in that building. Spoke to them, was nice to them; never saw himself as a celebrity … Jameis never saw that about himself and was the greatest teammate around and was as smart an individual – and prepared. His preparation was unbelievable,” Fisher said.
Additionally, the former FSU head coach spoke on the infamous moment in which Jameis Winston appeared in full pads during warmups despite being suspended for the 2014 game against Clemson.
“Well, here’s the thing, it wasn’t his fault. It was actually our equipment guys’ fault," Fisher said. "Here's what happened. His uniform was not supposed to be in his locker, when he came down to the locker, it was always said, 'if your uniform is hanging in your locker, you dress.' He was supposed to be suspended for a half that game. The night before the game the administration changed it to a full game, the night before,”
“Well, the equipment guys didn’t get that memo. They put his uniform in his locker thinking he was going to play the second half," Fisher continued, "When Jameis came down, he said 'alright, if the uniform's in my locker, I guess they want me to dress,' he was just going to go on the sideline and stand. The whole night before when he found that out [the suspension was announced], he spent the whole time trying to get Sean Maguire ready."
"Jameis was fun to coach, he was maybe the smartest individual I ever coached and I know teammates actually loved him to death. So when he came down, he just put the uniform on and went out to warm up," Fisher added. "He was going to stand on the sidelines and actually, if we hadn't had the uniform in the locker room, he wouldn't have dressed. So really he got a bum rap for that and I walked out and I said 'Jameis, you can't do that' and he said 'yes sir' and immediately ran in so it wasn't a big deal so really it wasn't his fault."
Backup quarterback Sean Maguire ended up stepping in for Winston and guiding the Seminoles to a 23-17 overtime victory.
Whether it was his preparation, his natural talent, his camaraderie with those around him, or a combination of all three, Jameis Winston had one heck of a career in Tallahassee.
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