By Greg Auman
Times Staff Writer
There has been steady praise for former Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston from the Bucs since he was taken by them with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft. But there was surprising criticism from former FSU coach Bobby Bowden.
"I think it's a consensus among Florida State fans and boosters that he was an embarrassment in a lot of ways to the university," Bowden said Tuesday during an interview on ESPN Radio's Paul Finebaum Show.
Bowden, 85, retired since 2009 and the second-winningest football coach in Division I-A, never overlapped with Winston at FSU, and his comments were a surprise, given the success the Seminoles had under Winston: Heisman Trophy winner, national championship, 26-1 record. But Winston had a number of off-field incidents during his career in Tallahassee, notably a sexual assault allegation and a citation for shoplifting crab legs.
"He won a lot of ball games, probably one of the best football players that ever attended Florida State, but he hurt himself off the field," Bowden said. "The good news is he's young enough to get over that, you know it? But he's gotta do that. He just can't just make those junior high school decisions that he made when he was in college."
It's not the first time Bowden has been critical of Winston
In October he told ESPN: "Jameis has got to grow up. He does things that kids in grammar school would do or kids in junior high would do, you know it? … I think once he draws the line and says, 'I'm not going to step below this another time,' I think he can do that. But if he don't, he's going to make it mighty tough on himself."