Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston is playing with less than a full deck where his receiving targets are concerned, and one of them won't be available for the entire season. The Florida State receiving ranks got thinner Saturday when Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher confirmed that sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Jones will miss the 2014 season due to academic ineligibility.
Jones caught just two passes as a freshman last year, but at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, he was certainly one of the candidates to replace Carolina Panthers rookie Kelvin Benjamin as the big target in the Seminoles' passing attack.
FSU beat writer Natalie Pierre of the Tallahassee Democrat tweeted the news.
While Jones looks to sharpen his pencil this fall, another sophomore receiver, Jesus Wilson (5-9, 177), remains under suspension. Wilson was charged with grand theft after he allegedly stole a motor scooter, and subsequently wrecked it, on the FSU campus in July.
Still, Winston's primary target for 2014 is primed for a big senior season. Rashad Greene, who led the team with 76 catches and 1,128 yards last year, will lead a young and inexperienced group, with or without Wilson.
"He's extremely respected," Fisher said earlier this week, according to foxsports.com. "He's a team guy, he's a team leader, and shows it in everything he does. It's very rare."
A healthy season for Greene is critical to Winston's hopes to repeat as both a Heisman winner and national champion. Greene had more receiving production last year than the rest of the team's receivers have combined for in their careers.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
