Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher calls Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston "a natural people person," and that's not necessarily a good thing for school officials worried about NCAA compliance and fan access.
Florida State sports information director Kerwin Lonzo told warchant.com, a website that covers FSU athletics, that he spoke to the Heisman Trophy public relations staff about how to handle the media attention that comes with winning the Heisman. He also said there was an informal outreach by his staff to Texas A&M's athletic department about how to handle a Heisman winner.
"I don't think there's a blueprint in place," Lonzo told warchant.com. "I know compliance has had conversations with Texas A&M ...(about) how to maneuver through this situation."
Warchant.com reported that members of FSU's athletic department make sure to be around Winston during most baseball games. In addition, a uniformed police officer from FSU follows Winston to every road baseball game; when FSU played the New York Yankees in an exhibition in February, warchant.com reported that there was a FSU Police officer in the dugout.
FSU associate athletic director Monk Bonasorte said one thing the school worries about is signed memorabilia ending up for sale on the web.
"The hard part is when you see people over and over, trying to get multiple things signed," Bonasorte told warchant.com. "What we've done is we've made sure that when he signs something, he has to put a name on it. It has to be identified to someone."
Bonasorte also told warchant.com that FSU has asked for additional support from the home school when it goes on the road, and Lonzo said FSU has had to clear things with NCAA compliance officials to make sure no rules are broken in those instances.
Despite all the extra steps FSU officials have taken, it's likely they don't mind. After all, it's not every day that a Heisman winner who can guide his team to the national title comes around.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.