Jameis Winston 'should be good'

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Jameis Winston battled through a sprained right ankle against Louisville, but Florida Statecoach Jimbo Fisher is not overly concerned it will limit the No. 2 Seminoles' quarterback this week.

"Should be good," Fisher said when asked about the reigning Heisman Trophy winner's status for Saturday's game against Virginia. "... It's an injury but no different than anybody else's. A lot of guys got sore ankles right now."

In the third quarter against Louisville, Winston was hit and sprained his right ankle as a Cardinals player took him to the ground. Fisher said the injury affected Winston, but the redshirt sophomore managed to finish with 401 passing yards and three touchdownsin the Seminoles' 42-31 victory.

Fisher is taking a wait-and-see approach with Winston regarding his availability for practice this week, but he showed no angst when discussing Winston's injury.

"Pain is temporary," Fisher said, echoing Winston's postgame comments. "You got to put it away. The guys that can deal with and play with it are the guys [that succeed] in this game for a long time. I thought he dealt with it very well."

Winston, who is 21-0 in his career, has never missed a start because of injury.

Unlike last year, Florida State (8-0, 5-0 ACC) has had key players battle injuries on a weekly basis.

Redshirt junior linebacker Terrance Smith, who is second in the ACC with 10.2 tackles per game, should practice this week after missing the Louisville game as a late scratch with pectoral strain. Reserve linebackers E.J. Levenberry (concussion), Jacob Pugh (concussion) and Matthew Thomas (shoulder) should be healthy for Virginia (4-5, 2-3). Ukeme Eligwe is still suffering from a foot injury suffered in spring.

Offensively, Fisher is optimistic running back Mario Pender will play. He missed the past two games with an ankle injury suffered against Syracuse on Oct. 11. Left tackle Cam Erving, who had a wrap on his right arm against Louisville, does not have a serious injury, Fisher said.

During practice this week, however, Fisher might still limit players -- both injured and healthy. With Florida State's games often coming down to the fourth quarter, unlike last year's blowouts, the Seminoles' starters are playing more snaps in 2014.

"We'll have to take a look at their bodies, the wear and tear on them, the number of snaps they take. You can judge by the GPS (system) the kind of wear and tear," he said. "That's always very critical. ... You have to be very aware of the quality of snaps and the number of snaps [but] still be able to practice enough to play well on Saturday."

Leading rusherKarlos Williams'status remains unchanged, Fisher said. Williams is thefocus of an investigation into an alleged domestic battery incident last week. Florida State general counsel Carolyn Egan contacted Tallahassee police about social media posts that accused Williams of physically assaulting his pregnant ex-girlfriend, according to emails released by police Thursday.

Fisher cited a university statement issued last week that said, in part, "Until we receive more information regarding the alleged incident, [Williams'] status with the team will be under review."

"The administration, the AD, everyone knows the whole situation and they made a statement, and we'll move on," Fisher said Monday.

Asked if the university was waiting on any new information that would change Williams' "under review" status, Fisher answered "Not really."