FSU's Fisher on Winston's future: 'It would not shock me either way'

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston has a tough decision to make: stay another year in college or head for the NFL. What he decides won't come as a surprise to his coach, Jimbo Fisher.

Fisher said Friday on ESPN's "Mike and Mike":

Jameis loves college football, but I think he's going to be one of the top two players drafted. He's got to make a choice. He's got to see what he wants to do. But it would not shock me either way.

I understand if he wants to go, when a guy's that high and you're doing what you do. But remember, he's a very, very good student. He's very smart. He loves baseball. He loves his time in college. He loves all the interaction of this, believe it or not. So it would not shock me either way.

We'll have the discussion here pretty soon.

Winston is a busy 20-year-old. He's preparing to take on No. 2 Oregon in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, in the inaugural College Football Playoff semifinal, and waiting for a ruling on his Florida State code of conduct hearing, which should drop before the new year. Winston, accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2012, could be expelled.

Winston led the Seminoles to a 13-0 record in what's been a trying year personally for the quarterback. Florida State hasn't lost a game since November 2012, when EJ Manuel was under center.

Fisher had nothing but positive things to say about Winston and how he's handled adversity and his team this season:

(We have) great conversations. If I watch Tom Brady every Sunday, I see (Winston) having those same conversations all the time. I think you have an ultimate competitor who wants to do the ultimate thing.

... His mentality is go, go, go, let me win. He drives our team. He's so fun to coach that way because his intelligence level, when you talk to him, is like talking to a coach. It really is. That's the thing that makes him special. Good enough is never good enough. He strives, pushes, challenges himself, consistently, every day and every practice because he wants to dominate his opponent.