Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher is confident that Jameis Winston's incident last year at Publix was an isolated one, saying that FSU's compliance department was looking into the matter. Asked how Winston's latest revelation could affect his stock for the upcoming NFL draft, Fisher said: "I have no idea. I have no idea. That's for them to decide. It was totally news to me. But that's a decision they'll have to make and what they'll have to do. I have no idea what the impact or anything else that will happen."
You can read more about Winston's comments on the incident here.
Fisher was just one of the 14 ACC coaches to participate in the league's spring teleconference Wednesday. Here's a roundup of some of the highlights from the two-hour call:
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said injured QB Deshaun Watson learned plenty while sidelined this spring, as Andrea Adelson notes. Swinney also explained why the ACC has found itself with a higher profile in recent years, citing the league's performances on big stages in recent years, as opposed to four or five years ago. He also, of course, cited recruiting, along with Virginia Tech's win last year at national champion Ohio State.
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino said injured QB Will Gardner (knee) won't start throwing until June, and that he won't know for a bit whether he can compete with the Cardinals' three other signal-callers for the starting job in 2015.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson was very pleased with the arrival of Stanford fullback transfer Patrick Skov, who will be eligible this fall and is expected to be another trusted body at the B-back position, where the Yellow Jackets are thin: "He gets us an older, more mature guy at that position. We feel like that we have a couple young guys that could come in and be dynamic players, but it's always good to have a guy with that type of experience to come in and compete." Johnson doesn't anticipate any hurdles with Skov learning the offense, and he went out of his way to praise the spring work of converted A-back/linebacker/receiver Marcus Allen.
In other injured QB news, North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said Marquise Williams is ahead of schedule after missing the spring with a hip injury. Although Williams may feel like he's 100 percent, Fedora said, "This is when they see most of the recurring injuries. So we have to be very careful with him right now. He's got to be into the plan, but we anticipate him being back here full-speed in just a few weeks." … Fedora also said he has received no timeline from the NCAA on when it may conclude its investigation into academic misconduct, which it reopened last summer. When recruits ask about it, Fedora said he tells them that they are at the mercy of the NCAA.
Asked about new West Virginia AD Bill Lyons' recent comments about wanting to renew the Backyard Brawl series, new Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi -- who was celebrating his 48th birthday on his first ACC teleconference -- said he grew up with the rivalry and wants to embrace future and past ones, but said ultimately it will be the new Panthers AD's call.
Boston College coach Steve Addazio said Darius Wade exited spring as the Eagles' starting quarterback, but he wants the competition at the position to continue.
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer left open the possibility of redshirting running backs Marshawn Williams and Shai McKenzie, depending on how they come back from knee injuries. Asked if he has already started preparing for a Week 1 rematch with defending national champion Ohio State: "We'll spend a little time on it this summer, and then having played them last year we got some information there. That's certainly a big game but like all our games the first three or four [games]. We want to get a little bit of a jump in the scouting department, so we'll spend some time on all those guys a little bit this summer."
Speaking of national champions, Duke coach David Cutcliffe was asked what effect the Blue Devils' men's hoops team's national title has had on his program: "Well, it's awesome. Love it. And people think Duke, they think winning. It's an all-around positive impact for our university. And Duke basketball has been for a long time. We won the championship back in 2010 and we felt it. You're in the public eye, and we have already felt it again. We are thrilled for them, proud of them, but we certainly benefit from it."