Jameis Winston will be top draw at Florida State's pro day
In the past two months since the end of Florida State's 2014 football season, quarterback Jameis Winston and the people around him have tried their best to restore his image before his professional career begins.
On Tuesday, the road to the NFL draft continues for Winston and several of his former teammates when they convene inside the school's indoor practice facility for pro day.
For Winston, the showcase is another shot at redemption.
When he's not standing on the roof of a big-city skyscraper with a helicopter flying nearby for a promotional shoot or in Alabama visiting family, Winston has been training for the draft with private quarterbacks coach George Whitfield Jr. in San Diego.
The two have been in Tallahassee preparing for pro day since Thursday when Whitfield posted a picture on Twitter of himself with a playbook in hand as Winston and a group of players, including wide receiver Rashad Greene, huddled around.
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The event, scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will give the players another chance to showcase their skills in front of NFL scouts and executives before the draft, which will be begin on April 30 in Chicago.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers own the first overall pick, and are projected to select Winston as their franchise quarterback. Not only do the Bucs need a quarterback, they have to compete against Carolina's Cam Newton, Atlanta's Matt Ryan and Drew Brees from New Orleans twice every season.
Former Florida State tight ends Nick O'Leary and Kevin Haplea, running back Karlos Williams, offensive linemen Cameron Erving, Josue Matias, Bobby Hart and Tre' Jackson, defensive linemen Mario Edwards Jr. and Eddie Goldman, cornerbacks P.J. Williams and Ronald Darby, and wide receiver Jared "Scooter" Haggins are also expected to participate.
But Winston will undoubtedly be the center of attention Tuesday like he's been over the last two seasons at Florida State.
Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner, finished his college career just 36 yards shy of 8,000 yards passing in two seasons with a 26-1 record and a national championship on his résumé.
His transgressions off the football field, however, are what many believe could lead to curbed success at the next level.
Winston became one of the most polarizing players in college football history, after a sexual assault case arose during his redshirt freshman season in 2013. Insufficient evidence has kept Winston free from any wrongdoing from the Tallahassee Police Department and Florida State. But the stain has been harder to remove after a shoplifting incident at a Tallahassee grocery story and Winston yelling an obscene phrase in FSU's student union.
"This isn't anything new on players that had some issues in college," Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith said at the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix on Wednesday. "I feel like I've been in it long enough to have guys come in with some issues, and we feel like we have a handle on if we select them on how to deal with them."
Winston and his camp have also dealt with the setbacks, and tried to be preemptive about any foreseeable ones as well.
At the NFL combine in February, Winston opened his introductory press conference with a statement acknowledging his "mistakes" and "past" before responding to an inquiry about a photo of his stomach protruding while training with Whitfield.
"A lot of people thought I was fat," Winston said before providing the charm Florida State fans have come to love. "I'm here proving everybody wrong. I look good and I know it."
He wasn't as pleased with his time in the 40-yard dash, his fastest at 4.97 seconds, but he falls right between two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks he wants to be compared to in Peyton Manning (4.81) and Tom Brady (5.28).
Winston's humor and knowledge of football shined the brightest during a simulated draft interview with former NFL coach and current NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci. Winston drew up a goal-line play about a minute after Mariucci drew it up, and even joked about having Jerry Rice or current Tampa Bay Buc Vincent Jackson lining up for him at wide receiver.
There's some intrigue whether he will intend the NFL draft or have a watch party less than 20 miles from his hometown of Bessemer in Birmingham, Alabama.
But before then, Winston will get one last chance to make some of his former teammates better.
"Everybody says when the season's over, it's over. No it isn't," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said after his current team practiced Saturday. "…It's all part of the whole process here of developing our players. It's not just about the team and winning games. You're helping them graduate, but you're also helping them get to the next level, and we're putting more guys out than anybody.
"It's very rewarding, and we're proud and feel like we're doing the right things for these guys as we're winning games and giving them their dreams and chances to become who they want to become."
Safid Deen writes for the Tallahassee Democrat