FSU reinstates Jameis Winston

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said Jameis Winston's one-game suspension "hit home" with the Seminoles' quarterback.

"Tremendously," Fisher said when asked how missing Saturday's 23-17 overtime win over Clemson affected the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. "I think you could see it on the sideline ... [but] he was a great influence for Sean [Maguire] and the other guys on the sideline. It was not for show or go. It was something heartfelt. I think it hit home, there's no doubt."

Fisher reinstated Winston on Monday and named him the starting quarterback for this weekend's game against NC State.

Winston was suspended last week after he stood on a table outside FSU's on-campus student union Tuesday and yelled a profane and sexually explicit phrase, mimicking a popular Internet video.

The suspension was initially for the first half but was extended to the entire game Friday night after he misled the administration, sources told ESPN.

Winston again garnered headlines during pregame warm-ups when he ran out of the locker room in a helmet and full pads, taking practice snaps with the rest of the quarterbacks.

When Fisher emerged from the locker room and saw Winston running drills, he sent him back to change. Winston spent the game on the sideline in jeans and a baseball hat.

Fisher took blame for the pregame stir.

"That was a miscommunication between us and the [equipment staff] because, with the late-night [full-game] suspension, he was scheduled to dress [Saturday] and the stuff was put out in the locker room when he went in to dress," Fisher said Monday. "He assumed he was going to dress for warm-ups and went out, and I never saw it. It got miscommunicated.

"[The equipment staff] probably should have never had it in the locker, and that's exactly what happened. We saw it, corrected it. He was great about it, went in and came back out and did what he was asked to do.

"That was our fault internally. We were making adjustments, moving around, and that was one part that slipped through the cracks."

Florida State said it is continuing to help teach Winston how to handle himself in public, but Fisher said that process will be kept internal and that Tuesday's incident was a learning point "not just for Jameis but for all the other players on our team."

Winston was investigated last year for sexual assault. Willie Meggs, the state attorney for the Second Judicial Circuit, chose not to charge Winston in December. Florida State is still following the case through with a Title IX investigation into the matter.

Winston was suspended earlier this year from Florida State's baseball team for three games and ordered to perform 20 hours of community service after being cited for stealing $32 worth of crab legs from a local grocery store in April. There have been other minor run-ins with authorities, but no arrests.

"I guess. I'd say he does," Fisher said when asked if Winston understands the scrutiny he is under. "But at the same time, he has carefree moments and he does spontaneous things that he has to make better judgments on.

"And I say this: It's not that I defend; I do not condone. I said that the other day, but Jameis is not a bad individual."