Breaking Down The Florida State Quarterback Battle

April 13, 2013; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher during the first half of the spring game at Doak Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Jimbo Fisher’s Endgame or Something (Likely Something)

The overview, Fisher’s train of thought or whatever you want to call this is pretty simple. Fisher wants to keep Coker around for this season. He didn’t want him transferring out a few months back because of a perceived lack of playing time. There is also the whole — however unlikely — scenario which can come about. You know, Winston not living up to the hype surrounding him. Fisher has an insurance policy that 90 percent of the programs in the country would love to have — someone like Coker to fall back on in case of emergency.

Don’t be shocked if Fisher never makes the decision, but just decides to let Winston going behind center in the first game (August 31st, against Pitt) be his public announcement. What you shouldn’t expect, though, is Fisher using different quarterback packages. Despite the coach talking about doing so and acknowledging he would if he thought it would give him the best chance to win, Fisher clearly needs to let his young starter develop on the field. Getting thrown to the sidelines for a ‘gimmick package’ is a surefire way to slow down that development.

If Winston turns out to be the real deal and plays the majority of this season, I think it is safe to assume Coker would transfer at the end of the season. He has far too much talent to ruin all his eligibility playing backup to the cheese ball loving gunslinger. Still, the reason Fisher refuses to acknowledge what everyone else (and their respective mothers) knows is he wants to keep Coker around as long as humanly possible.

I mean, if FSU’s worst case scenario calls for Winston to fail, but a player who could start for nearly every other team in the country having to step-in to play some big-time minutes, well, it’s not too bad then.

Regardless, expect Winston to start against Pitt no matter what Fisher is trying to push to the media or if he never makes a public announcement. Obviously, however, Winston has a ton of hype surrounding him and a world’s worth of expectations will be put on the his shoulders. If he isn’t able to carry those expectations, though, Coker will be there to help shoulder the load.

Me, Twitter @JosephNardone