Page 30 - 4-3-15 Friday's Edition

Sports
Jameis Winston Proved He Is A Team
Mariota, Like Winston
Player At Florida State’s Pro Day
Will Not Attend NFL
According to everyone present, Jameis Win- ston's workout at Florida State's pro day on Tuesday was impressive, which was expected.
The quarterback threw 102 passes, and only 10 of them fell incomplete (six of them could be considered drops). Winston showed NFL coaches and general managers he can make all the throws. But that's no big surprise. Everyone already knows Winston can throw.
What surprised and im- pressed most was Win- ston's demeanor -- before, during and after the work- out. Although other position groups started more than two hours before Winston was scheduled to throw, he was out on the field with his teammates.
Winston borrowed a stopwatch from a scout and playfully timed some of the linemen running the 40-yard dash. He joked with the media on the sidelines, and that was a precursor to his being poised and relaxed during the workout.
Winston's most impres- sive act came just before his workout began. He gathered all the wide receivers, tight ends and running backs to- gether and approached the area where the coaches, gen- eral managers and scouts were standing.
Winston thanked them all for coming. He followed that by giving grandiose in- troductions of each of his teammates. He also agreed to throw more than 100
Draft In Chicago
passes -- about double the usual amount for a pro day. Winston was the only quar- terback working out, and he said he extended the session to help his teammates get more exposure.
Winston has received plenty of attention for sev- eral off-the-field incidents, giving rise to questions about his character and ma- turity. But the fact that Win- ston, as a quarterback and team leader, appears to care so much about his team- mates is a positive sign.
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers, who hold the No. 1 pick in the draft, came away impressed by Winston.
"He had a great day," Bucs general manager Jason Licht said. "He threw a full nine innings."
The Bucs have been doing their homework on Winston for months. He has visited One Buccaneer Place and met with owner- ship. Co-chairman Joel Glazer said last week he wouldn't be opposed to the
Bucs drafting Winston. But Licht isn't ready to publicly declare Winston will be the No. 1 pick in the
NFL draft.
"It's just part of the
process," Licht said. "We're going to use every minute of time that we have here in the next few weeks to make a de- cision," ESPN.
Teams Spying On Winston
Shadowing Winston – in essence, spying on him – apparently has fit into at least one team's equation.
That revelation comes from Winston's quarter- back guru, the highly re- spected George Whitfield, Jr., who ran Winston's passing performance during Tuesday's pro day.
According to Whitfield, teams have been very aggres- sive in their vetting process, including watching Win- ston when he's least likely to be looking.
"They've staged people," Whitfield said. "Yeah, there are teams that have staged people on different flights he had, just to kind of be in the midst – a fly on the wall. No [Jameis wasn't aware of it], but I had a team official tell me that. They were aware of another team that said they wanted to do that."
How could a team know Winston's flight plan?
"When you go to the [NFL scouting] combine, the league has a flight deal, a flight manifest," Whitfield said.
Of course, this wasn't a total surprise for the camp. Winston's attorney, David Cornwell, said he warned the FSU star and former Heisman Trophy winner that NFL eyes – and the glare of the general public – would consistently be upon him.
"I told him to assume everyone is watching him at all times," Cornwell said. "We've told him that. People will always be watching every single thing he does."
College Basketball Coaches And ADs Being Banned; Choosing Not To Attend Final Four In Indiana
JAMEIS WINSTON
MARCUS MARIOTA
Following in the footsteps Jameis Winston, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mari- ota has also decided to forgo attending the NFL Draft on April 30.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com, Mariota has elected to re-
main home in Hawaii instead of attending the draft in per- son in Chicago.
Mariota feels it’s impor- tant for him, personally and culturally, to go through the experience at home.
Winston has elected to remain at home as well be- cause his grandmother has type-2 diabetes and cannot travel to the event.
With Mariota also elect- ing not to make the trip, it could very likely mean the top two selections in the draft will not be in attendance to shake hands and provide a photo opportunity with Roger Goodell.
KEVIN OLLIE
Connecticut men's bas- ketball coach Kevin Ollie and his staff will not travel to the Final Four in Indianapo- lis this week.
UConn President Susan Herbst announced the deci- sion Tuesday night, reacting to Indiana's controversial Re- ligious Freedom Restoration Act, and the subsequent travel ban for State of Con- necticut employees issued by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday.
Many college basketball coaches travel to the Final Four each year — even if not coaching in it — because it is the site of the annual Na- tional Association of Basket-
PAT HADEN
ball Coaches convention, as well as other events/net- working opportunities.
Southern California ath- letic director Pat Haden will not attend the College Foot- ball Playoff selection com- mittee meeting in Indianapolis this week be- cause of a new Indiana reli- gious-freedom law that critics fear could permit dis- crimination against gays and lesbians
Haden posted on Twitter at (at) ADHadenUSC: ''I am the proud father of a gay son. In his honor, I will not be at- tending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. (hash) EmbraceDiversity.
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