It turns out Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston may not be a shoplifter after all. On ESPN’s Draft Academy Winston told Michigan University head coach Jim Harbaugh that he was actually given the crab legs, along with other foods, from an employee at the store and couldn’t admit that because it would have been an NCAA violation.
“Well, a week before it was my buddy’s birthday and we had got a cake,” Winston told Harbaugh. “And we met a dude that worked inside Publix and he said, ‘Hey, anytime you come in here, I got you.’ So that day we just walked out and he hooked us up with that. And when I came in to get crab legs, I did the same thing and he just gave them to me and I walked out. And someone from inside the store had told the security that I didn’t pay for them. And that’s how the whole thing started.”
That story actually makes a hell of a lot more sense than Winston shoving stolen crab legs into his pants, frankly. At the time he (and maybe not just him, if you get my drift), made the call to take the rap and keep an NCAA violation off the books. Now, of course, Winston has to be prepared to talk about it with teams that might draft him, which puts him in a bind.
“How am I supposed to handle, like, if I just got them for free?” Winston asked Harbaugh during the meeting. “I just say, ‘I just messed up?’”
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher, of course, claimed to have no knowledge of what really went down at the Publix that day. But he at least didn’t call Winston a liar.
“If he (Winston) says it is, I guess it is,” Fisher told reporters during an ACC teleconference call Wednesday. “I have no knowledge of it until I came in this morning. But FSU, we did make contact with Publix back then to make sure there was nothing going on.”
On crab legs RT @BruceFeldmanCFB: Jimbo said FSU compliance did look into it back then to make sure nothing was going on.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 22, 2015
In spite of rumblings that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking hard at Oregon quarterback and 2014 Heisman Trophy Winner Marcus Mariota, most people (including me) still think they’ll take Winston with the top pick.
Bucs coach Lovie Smith addressed Winston’s maturity and character Monday, he echoed Winston’s lawyer David Cornwell’s sentiment that the Winston wasn’t read to be an NFL player off the field. Cornwell later amended his statement, adding that no college player is prepared for that. Smith agreed.
“I would probably say that about all of the players coming into the league,” Smith said Monday. “Are they really ready? Most of them probably think that they’re not. Some of them think that they are, but are you really ready? …I think you figure it out as you go through it. You’re not going to do it by yourself. You’re going to have a lot of people that are helping you get through every stage of the process, and that will be the case with this group of rookies.
One of the few teams Winston hasn’t met with, but could draft him if he falls past the first few picks in the draft is the New York Jets. The Jets and Winston have been unable to get their schedules together for a one-on-one visit, though they did meet with him at his Pro Day at Florida State.
Director of athletics Stan Wilcox released a statement on Wednesday saying the university will work in compliance with the NCAA to deem if any potential violations occurred from student athletes receiving free items at Publix.
We have become aware of statements made by Jameis Winston during a recent interview with Jim Harbaugh describing the circumstances of his all alleged receipt of food from a local grocery store. The details disclosed by Winston in that interview were not previously known to the University. As is the case with all matters of this type, we will work in partnership with the NCAA to determine whether a violation occurred.
P.J. Williams discusses DUI arrest
Winston’s teammate at FSU has had some issues of his own this offseason, with a DUI arrest on April 3. Williams admitted to Sports Illustrated that he was drinking before he got behind the wheel the night he was arrested.
“Right now I’m just hoping teams judge me off my film,” Williams said. “And what kind of player I am and the information they get from my coaches and family.”
On @SInowLIVE, 1pm ET: @FSU_Football @PjWilliams_26 answers questions about his past transgressions, and @jon_wertheim and @bjschecter react
— Maggie Gray (@MaggieGray) April 22, 2015
It wasn’t the first run-in with the law the Seminoles star cornerback had in the last calendar year. He was busted for driving with a suspended license back in October. It could have been worse, as he fled the scene of an accident but wasn’t charged.
The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 30 at 8 p.m. EST with the full first round. The second and third rounds are Friday, May 1 beginning at 7 p.m. The fourth through seventh rounds will happen Saturday, May 2, starting at noon.
