Jameis Winston's attorney, David Cornwell, seems to have the same general opinion of the quarterback as everyone else: He is ready to be a player on the field but has some growing up to do off the field.
Cornwell spoke at the Villanova Sports Symposium on Friday and was asked about Winston.
"He's ready to be an NFL player on the field. But he's not ready to be an NFL player off the field," Cornwell said, per BuzzFeed's Joel D. Anderson.
Anderson tweeted that he had talked with Cornwell after his portion of the event and that Cornwell said Winston has some growing up to do, not that he's unprepared for the NFL. Later on Friday, Cornwell took to Twitter, writing Winston will be "fine" and "I bet Jameis is more ready than most."
During his talk, Cornwell also said, "We have to assist him in growing and developing as a man. And it's not going to be easy."
In addition, Cornwell said it was Winston's idea to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last month. "(Winston) has an incredible self-awareness," Cornwell said.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers own the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and seem likely to take Winston. Florida edge rusher Dante Fowler, Jr., is visiting with the Bucs on Friday, and he told the Tampa Bay Times, "They're going with a quarterback. ... They know where they're going. I understand that."
Cornwell also used his time at the symposium to excoriate the media for its coverage of Winston, saying the media had "only reported half the story" in regards to the Winston sexual-assault allegations and that "journalism is dead in sports media."
That Cornwell would rip the media is not surprising in the least; that he would admit that Winston needs to grow up is surprising, though. Cornwell has been a staunch Winston defender, and for him to admit Winston has any flaws is interesting.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
