Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said he has spoken with Heisman-winning quarterback Jameis Winston about the intense scrutiny he receives and also said Winston needs to be responsible for his actions.
Antonor Winston, the quarterback's father, recently told USA Today that his family, his son and Florida State didn't do a good job dealing with the attention that comes with winning the Heisman and suggested that Jameis is "supposed to have somebody around him 24/7."
That's not realistic, Fisher told the Palm Beach Post.
"To keep someone on somebody 24 hours a day is a very difficult situation," Fisher told the Post. "You enable them if you're not careful. You still have to be responsible for your own actions.
"We will always monitor our players, and we have to monitor him more because he does get more attention. But at the same time, he has to be his own man and be able to do the things he has to do."
Fisher said he told Winston that the quarterback must "be aware of what you are and what's going on, and you can't make those mistakes anymore because you carry a huge burden. You're the face of our university. You're the face of our football team."
While Winston, 20, has had four incidents in which authorities were involved, including a sexual assault investigation, he never has been charged with a crime. Last month, Winston shoplifted $32.72 worth of crab legs from a Tallahassee Publix. Last week, video of the incident was released. He was offered a civil citation because the shoplifting was considered a minor crime and he had no criminal history. He paid Publix and completed 20 hours of community service.
"I do not think it was malicious, but at the same time, we do not take it lightly," Fisher told the Post about the crab legs incident. "It has to be taken care of, it has to be addressed and it can't happen."
Winston missed three baseball games, and Fisher has said there are no plan has no plans to discipline him during the football season.
"I look at it like my own kid," Fisher told the Post. "If your kid gets in trouble, is he punished (separately) by his mother and his father?"
Winston and the Seminoles will enter the season as the prohibitive favorites in the ACC. As a third-year sophomore, Winston will be eligible for the 2015 draft should he so choose.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
