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Jimbo Fisher

Jimbo Fisher to reinstate Jameis Winston as FSU starter

Dan Wolken
USA TODAY Sports
Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher and quarterback Jameis Winston (5) share an awkward moment Saturday night when Winston came out of the locker room in uniform despite being suspended from playing.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said Saturday night that Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston's one-game suspension was sufficient punishment for his latest public misstep and he would be back at practice Monday and reinstated as the team's starter.

With backup Sean Maguire playing quarterback Saturday, the No. 1 Seminoles survived at home against No. 24 Clemson, 23-17, winning on Karlos Williams' 12-yard touchdown run in overtime.

"At the end of the day we felt like the one game made the most sense, and I chose to keep that process internal," Fisher said. "Now he's served that punishment and he's ready to move forward.

"You never know the pace kids learn or why they make mistakes, but I hope and believe Jameis will learn from this and use better judgment and his language and decision making and respect for everything will continue to grow."

Winston, who has drawn scrutiny for a multitude of smaller issues in addition to the sexual assault accusation that was made against him last fall, was initially supposed to serve a suspension only for the first half after it came to light Tuesday that he shouted a vulgar obscenity in the student union, mimicking an Internet prank.

On Sunday morning, the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence released a statement:

On the heels of the White House announcement of a new initiative, the "It's On Us" public awareness and education campaign, we strongly urge FSU's administration, staff, faculty, and students — in fact, everyone — to do more to address rape culture. And, begin by calling Jameis Winston's recent behavior what it is: disrespectful, misogynist, and disgusting. It wasn't simply "poor judgment." His behavior wasn't a "selfish" act. This wasn't about letting his teammates down. Don't accept another nonsensical "apology" that doesn't begin to address his behavior. What he said was aggressive and ugly and indicative of how little respect and care he has for women.

Late Friday night, interim university president Garnett Stokes and athletics director Stan Wilcox announced the suspension would be for the entire game.

Fisher declined to address why the suspension changed and when that decision began to take shape, but said it left the coaching staff scrambling to adjust its gameplan for Maguire, who had only played a handful of snaps in mop-up situations.

Maguire struggled at times and threw two interceptions but finished 21-for-39 for 305 yards, including a game-tying 74-yard touchdown with 6:04 remaining.

"To plan for a half and a whole game is totally different," Fisher said. "It was a lot of work we had to do late, late Friday night and early Saturday all day. A lot of things that had to get done, but life gives you turnips all the time. You have to adjust and move on.

"I couldn't be prouder of Sean Maguire tonight, what he did for our team and the resolve he had."

Despite the multitude of issues that have arisen since Winston has been on campus, this was the first time he has missed game action as a punishment. Florida State let Winston play while he was under investigation for sexual assault, a decision that seemed to be vindicated when the state attorney in Tallahassee decided not to charge him with a crime.

Subsequently, the school is now being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education under Title IX for how it handles sexual assault complaints, including the one made against Winston.

Through it all, however, Winston has had no bigger defender than Fisher, who turned the discussion toward buzzwords like "family" and "love" in a prepared postgame statement.

He also seemed to defend Winston's bizarre decision to come out on the field for pregame warmups wearing his full uniform, as if he were preparing to play. ESPN's cameras caught Fisher with an exasperated look, telling Winston to go back to the locker room. He returned to the field shortly thereafter in sweatpants and a jersey.

Asked why Winston put on his pads pre-game, Fisher said, "I don't know, and we corrected that. Put him back in. He wanted to be with his teammates … To answer your question, because he loves his teammates."

Fisher then smirked and said, "I kinda like this."

At the end of the day, assuming Winston is ready to play next week and stays out of trouble, this week was merely a blip for the Seminoles, who have now won 19 straight and are the clear favorites to win the ACC.

If anything, Saturday might have been a boost for them because they were able to beat a quality opponent without the reigning Heisman winner. And it doesn't appear Winston will have any problems going back to his position as the team's locker room leader.

"Jameis is not a kid. He just has a great personality and he likes to joke around," receiver Rashad Greene said. "That's who he is. I don't plan on changing anyone and he realizes already, you have to be careful how you do things in public, point blank period."

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