Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher is not surprised by reports that quarterback Jameis Winston impressed NFL teams with the intelligence he demonstrated in interviews at the Combine.
Fisher, who has been a quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator or head coach for 27 years, said he has never coached a player with the level of football intelligence that Winston possesses.
“Jameis, in football intellect, intelligence level, is as smart as anybody I’ve ever been around,” Fisher said on NFL Network. “You can do so many different things with him and he grasps it. He just doesn’t memorize plays, he understands the concepts of how to attack the coverage, how a play works, where his one-on-one matchups are. He just has a tremendous football intellect that way.”
Fisher said that Winston’s study habits are particularly impressive.
“Every night, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, we get off the practice field, he eats his dinner at 6:45, and then he’s up here in the offices until 9:30, 10, 10:30 at night,” Fisher said. “He would sit and watch every practice tape and then prepare for red zone, third down, whatever it might be. A lot of guys are very talented but he likes to understand the game.”
There are still major questions about whether Winston will stay out of off-field trouble in the NFL because he wasn’t able to stay out of off-field trouble at Florida State. But there are no questions about whether he has the tools to be an NFL quarterback. He has those tools, both physically and mentally.