Joe’s Time At FSU Pro Day
April 1st, 2015
OK, Joe is tapping out this report at 1 a.m. Just got back from Tallahassee. Fun day. Busy day. Full day. Thus, Joe tried to scribble a few thoughts:
* First and foremost, let’s address the elephant in the room. On a warm March morning walking across the Florida State campus, it was a task for Joe not to rubberneck. What is Joe getting at? Talent. And it had nothing to do with football.
* The pro day itself was one of the most boring things Joe has ever covered. Because of the hundreds (so it seemed) of coaches and scouts, Joe couldn’t see a damn thing for much of the pro day. Media was required to stay on one sideline and there was always a wall of coaches and scouts that prevented anyone from seeing a damned thing happening on the field. Trust Joe when he writes that those watching on TV saw much, much more. The only things Joe got to watch were defensive backs doing cone drills and of course, Jameis Winston’s passing. That was it, out of four hours.
* As for the cornerbacks, wow. Joe was blown away by their athleticism. In particular, Seminoles cornerback P.J. Williams was a total freak. Amazing how quick he was, not just his running ability, but his feet were so damned quick and he reacted to the ball like lightning. And for a cornerback, Williams is long with crazy long arms. Joe can understand why he is one of the more highly coveted corners in the draft.
* Then there is Jameis Winston. It is funny; the folks at the pro day thought, overall, Winston did pretty good if not very good. Many folks watching on TV cringed. Funny how perspective was so different.
* Joe didn’t see this but heard about it: Winston’s parents were hugging it out with Bucs coach Lovie Smith. Read into that what you wish. But were they so chummy because they know Jameis will be a Bucs quarterback on April 30?
* The Bucs had a lot of folks there, including general manager Jason Licht, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and quarterback coach Mike Bajakian, who seemed fairly pleased. Joe saw Koetter and Lovie wearing wide smiles but as far as smiling, Licht couldn’t hide his.
After the pro day, Licht chatted with reporters and trust Joe when he writes that Licht simply could not stop smiling. He couldn’t wipe that smile off his face. Occasionally, he tried to force himself not to smile as he listened to questions from reporters, and Joe thought Licht’s face was going to break. After maybe a second, that smile would reappear. He was like a kid on Christmas morning that found a new bike under the Christmas tree but tried not to gloat and receive a tongue-lashing from his mother. The proverbial cat that swallowed the canary.
Of course, Licht was effusive in his praise for Winston.
* Throughout the pro day, there was a constant buzz from the hundreds of folks there: coaches, scouts, family members of players, media. A constant hum. That all stopped when Winston began throwing. Then, the place fell silent. The only thing you could hear was Winston barking signals and the leather of the football slapping the gloved hands of the receivers. It went from a beehive finding yourself in church at midnight on a Friday. Almost total silent. It was eerily.
* It was amusing to watch Steelers coach Mike Tomlin lock in on Winston. Tomlin was like a hawk, staring at Winston on his every throw. Complete and total concentration. It was like Tomlin was in the market himself for a new quarterback.
* While warming up, Winston was just soft-tossing balls, relaxed flips of the football, yet the ball sailed 35-yards downfield. What an arm!
* Later during his throwing session, Winston rifled a ball to a receiver not too far from Joe. He poured the mustard on the fastball. Just whipped it. When the ball jetted past Joe, it was like hearing a fastball buzz by you at the plate. All Joe heard was a “wwwhhhooossshh” sound. It was pretty cool.
All in all it was a long, long day, and aside from Winston’s 100+ throws, and watching P.J. Williams racing through cone drills, it was one of the most boring assignments Joe has ever had. But Joe is happy to have attended.
April 1st, 2015 at 6:04 am
102 passes, 91 completions…out of the 10 or so incompletions 6 were dropped passes….that’s just sick, guess his arm is fine huh??
April 1st, 2015 at 6:04 am
lol joe remind everyone about glennon’s proday!!!! it was nothing to talk about hahaha. he’s got some work to do yes but im ok with that, glennon has been in the league going on his 3rd year and he’s got just as much work to do
April 1st, 2015 at 6:05 am
Winston’s performance wasn’t great, that’s for sure.
April 1st, 2015 at 6:13 am
Thanks for the hands on update of Winston’s pro day unlike some of the TV reporters I thought he did great sure not all throws were perfect but he had a tight spin on the ball and showed a lot of arm strength. I can remember Doug Williams’s first game for the Bucs his first pass was for 70 yards and was not completed but everybody cheer due to his arm strength. Arm strength is what keeps a lot of good college QB from becoming a pro. Keep up the good work Joe.
April 1st, 2015 at 6:16 am
Haters gonna hate…If you dont like it, learn to love it because Winston will be the Bucs new QB…have a nice day..
April 1st, 2015 at 6:19 am
Sorry. Joe really has been trying to keep the comments from intentionally shifting gears far away from the topic of the post. –Joe
April 1st, 2015 at 6:54 am
As to the comments about his parents being chummy with Lovie, I said months ago that his dad has been wearing Bucs gear around his hometown. And telling people that the choice has already been made. Winston to Tampa.
Finally a franchise QB.
April 1st, 2015 at 7:06 am
On Path to the Draft last night one of my favorite quotes was “if Winston somehow falls to number two the Zach Mettenburger era in TN is over!” I am not sure who made the decision to tank that game against the Saints but thank God they did. While they pointed out that he wasn’t perfect in his pro day they felt that he did many things quite well. Finally we will have a franchise QB!!!!!
Did anyone see the interview with Mooch! I missed it and forgot to set my DVR to recorded it. Any thoughts on that?
April 1st, 2015 at 7:09 am
@Joe – thanks for keeping posts on topic
April 1st, 2015 at 7:11 am
Hopefully the Bucs will call Jameis agent in and get him signed soon. We don’t need to wait until 04/30/15. Get him here now. Let him get to know VJ, Mike Evans, ASJ so they can start to form some type of bond. Plus he can be going over Dirk’s playbook.
April 1st, 2015 at 7:24 am
“it was one of the most boring assignments Joe has ever had. But Joe is happy to have attended.”
I’m guessing the rubbernecking on campus was a highlight Joe. You aren’t kidding about the quality of “talent” to be seen at FSU.
Thanks for your takes here. Articles like this and the uniqueness of your perspective is what really sets your reporting of the Bucs apart from other sites and news sources. That and the prolificness of course with multiple articles every day throughout the year. Kepp up the good work guys. 🙂
April 1st, 2015 at 7:27 am
BucRock Says:
April 1st, 2015 at 7:09 am
@Joe – thanks for keeping posts on topic
Ditto – and if you would be a little stricter with the trolls it would improve the experience as well.
April 1st, 2015 at 7:28 am
Winston is going to be a Buc. I was unable to order my custom Buccaneer #5 “Crab Legs” jersey off of the NFL site store.
April 1st, 2015 at 8:45 am
Pickgrin
Yeah cuz we certainly dont want any alternative opinions others than ours. I still feel MM is the better picK but will support either.
Is your user experience less because of us? Really? Big baby.
Signed
1939 German leadership
April 1st, 2015 at 8:57 am
M>W, i think he was referring to the people who lurk on the site in hopes of being first in the comments section of every post with a crab legs\rape comment, not people saying “i prefer mariotta” or “i’m not sold on winston”. Still, Winston and Bucs fans will have to keep a thick skin early on, until all the sheep around NFL Fandom have stopped being told he is the spawn of Hitler
April 1st, 2015 at 9:09 am
BucFan4Life – the “Game Changers” was okay, but not incredible. rehashed some of the old mooch\winston combine stuff, and had mooch running him though field drills that most QBs prepping for the draft have probably done many times. the most interesting bits were from the interview, not because he said anything amazing, but just watching his natural ease and excitement about football. my wife happened to start watching it with me and stuck around for the whole thing. she was pretty sold on winston from a personality\mental makeup point by the end, because you don’t need to be a football expert to pick up on JW’s natural leadership or to see that he is very fluent in and comfortable with the mental side of football. Kind of a random comparison, but he reminds me of David Price. Jokester and laid back guy, but put him on the mound and he wants nothing but perfection and dominance. After the Rays drafted him, he announced he goal was to win the World Series and Cy Young every year
April 1st, 2015 at 9:57 am
Took a break from my daily grind of paperwork to watch the ProDay and noticed a few things. At first JW’s passes were not on target, but he got better towards the end. He looked out of shape at times, which at this point he should be in great condition. On rollouts he was not acurate and the ball sailed on his throws. Dropback passes were better, but with the Bucs none existant oline he needs to be able to move and throw better. I know the Bucs are going to pick him, which I feel MM is a better choice due to the oline situation, but it’s up to them to deal with what is coming. JW is being kept under wraps because everyone knows that if they don’t watch him he will do something stupid, which will effect the money flow. I also see this kid getting out of shape if not watched as well. Two things he said in the interview that stood out he blamed the young wide reciever for a couple of interceptions, not his fault, and he bought his grandmother a chair. Where does a college student get money for a chair? Just a few things I noticed. Of course I will be a hater, but the truth hurts!!! I dont go through life with blinders on or make excuses for anyone. I think trouble is coming to Tampa, but I would be glad to see it all work out for the best!! Season ticket holder since 1980.
April 1st, 2015 at 10:50 am
Lol @LJS I don’t recognize your screen name but do you always grasp at straws and are you just not very bright. He didn’t look out of shape at all. He was sweaty but that is it. You throw a hundred throws in a building that is hit and stuffy and see if you sweat.
You cannot be serious about him having the ability to buy his grandmother a chair. He is projected to be the number one overall pick and soon will be signing a $25M contract. Do you think there is a chance that his agent fronted him some money until he becomes incredibly rich in a few weeks? Not sure how it happens (agents, banks, or private lenders) but there would be a line of people ready and willing to front this kid some money before the contract is signed. The fact that you even mentioned that makes you lose all credibility.
April 1st, 2015 at 11:44 am
Hi Joe, serious question here. Why do you think Tomlin was so into it? Knows he will be playing against Winston for years to come so wants to information gather on his tendencies or what? This was reported as the reason the Saints interviewed Winston at the combine – because they knew they would be playing him twice a year for a decade once he’s drafted by Tampa.
April 1st, 2015 at 12:51 pm
Clint:
Think you answered your own question. Tomlin probably knows he’s going to cross paths with Winston a time or two and better try to find some hiccup now that he may be able to exploit down the road.
April 1st, 2015 at 5:13 pm
Hmmmm Pittsburg thinking of sending Big Ben here and securing their next 10 years as a good team. Tampa deperate to be relavant will take Ben for his last few years and then suck again.
April 1st, 2015 at 9:01 pm
Tomlin might study every QB like he studies Winston. Watch Winston, take notes on what he sees, see what he turns out like in the NFL, and refer back to his notes to critique himself – Student of the game
April 1st, 2015 at 9:09 pm
@Bucfan4life, sorry to tell you but I put a couple of items in my post to see if a TRUE fan could see what I was talking about. You had the nerve to say that I was not very bright but you didnt read my post but fell for the parts of the post that were not important. Sorry to say, but you are the one that is not very bright!! That is why I usually read the crap people like you post and not post myself. I will be the first to post “I told you so!!” when there are issues with JW!!! We should really pick MM, but we wont.
April 1st, 2015 at 10:49 pm
No of course I saw and understood all of your objections to Jameis. I didn’t address the valid ones as they are legitimate things to mention. However pointing out that he bought a chair and trying to make that sound questionable was ridiculous.
You also said he looked out of shape which was not true either.
So you can make a post saying a lot of things and if some of it is untrue nobody can call you out on that?
April 2nd, 2015 at 1:11 pm
We all know Jameis is more NFL ready than Mariota ever will be. Jameis is going to be another Tom Brady or Steve McNair. Mariota is going to be another Colin Kaepernick. That’s the difference in playing in a pro-style attack in college vs a spread option.