Jameis splitting reps at minicamp, but coaches are impressed 
Despite the heat, Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston tried to keep things loose while running through drills at One Buc Place. JAY CONNER/STAFF Jameis Winston has been splitting the first-team snaps, but he said the most important thing for him is to learn the playbook. By Roy Cummings | Tribune Staff Published: June 16, 2015 at 09:58 PM TAMPA — Jameis Winston has a mentor. It’s three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who already has weighed in with his first few words of advice for the Buccaneers’ rookie quarterback.“Lay low,” Winston said with a laugh.Winston might have a hard time with that one. And not just off the field, where celebrity gossip outlets such as TMZ are already targeting virtually every move he makes.Winston has long had a flair for the dramatic on the field, and he displayed a new side of that Tuesday during the first day of the Bucs’ three-day minicamp at One Buc Place.In celebration of one of his completions during a white-hot afternoon in which temperatures reached into the mid-90s, Winston made like former Rays closer Fernando Rodney and pretended to shoot an arrow into the sky.“When it’s hot like this, guys tend to be down so you’ve got to lift them up and have some fun,” Winston said. “So I shot the arrow. I mean, the quarterbacks were on fire today.”Winston certainly was. During one seven-on-seven red-zone drill he completed five of his seven passes, including one for a touchdown to wide receiver Russell Shepard.Later, Winston completed the workout by throwing a pair of touchdown passes. He did that, though, while working exclusively with the second-team offense, again yielding first-unit reps to Mike Glennon.It has been like that throughout the offseason, Winston and Glennon splitting first-team reps almost every other day. If Winston is bothered by that, he’s not letting on.“I’m not frustrated at all,” he said. “In this world you have to earn everything you get. I’m just excited to play. What matters is that I learn every single day and get this playbook down pat.”Winston appears to be making good progress toward that end. Bucs coach Lovie Smith said Winston is developing quickly and continues to impress with his ability to learn coordinator Dirk Koetter’s offense.“He’s right on track,” said Smith, who added that his use of Winston during the offseason workouts has been part of a plan designed to get both Winston and Glennon ready for training camp.“Part of that plan is for Jameis to get a certain amount of reps with certain guys,” Smith said. “At the same time, it’s not just about Jameis. We have to get our backup quarterback ready, too.“To me, you go through the offseason and they kind of let you know the rotation that you’re going to have once you get to training camp, and that’s what we’re working through.”Smith said he has yet to establish a depth chart at any position, particularly quarterback, because it’s too hard to evaluate players when they’re not in pads.Still, the performances the players put in during these offseason workouts will go a long way toward determining how the reps are split up once training camp begins.“For a quarterback, you’re not hitting, and he knows that,” Smith said. “So he can hold the ball until whenever, and you have to keep all that in mind. But we’re doing the same thing with all the others, too. It’s hard to evaluate linemen when you don’t have any contact, too. But for what you can do, I think there can be some separation in the group a little bit, and that’s what you’re looking for.”McCoy has separated himself in an effort to help Winston mature. So has wide receiver Vincent Jackson and center Evan Smith. But McCoy has made the greatest effort to help, Winston said.“He’s just such a good guy,” Winston said of McCoy. “He’s always looking to help me in any way. It’s good to have a big-time guy like that to take the time out to try to mentor a young guy like me.” [email protected](813) 259-7979Twitter: @RcummingsTBO
