Jameis Winston had to fight to remain the center of attention at his own pro day Tuesday. The man running the workout, freelance quarterback guru George Whitfield Jr., brought out a host of props to try to simulate an NFL pass rush while Winston threw. Suffice it to say, the man really loves brooms:
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Former NFL QB Shaun King watched Jameis Winston’s pro day and didn’t like what he saw ... but not because of Winston himself.
Whitfield gained a reputation as a "quarterback whisperer" by working his way up from tutoring elementary school passers to Super Bowl champions. The Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger became one of Whitfield's first premier clients in 2010. Whitfield was tabbed by Roethlisberger's agent, who had heard of Whitfield's creativity as a tutor for college quarterbacks. Whitfield would blindfold pupils, terrorize them with brooms, and even throw bean bags at them.
However, not everyone agrees with Whitfield's ... unorthodox ... methods, despite his history of working with quarterbacks like Cam Newton and Andrew Luck. His biggest critic Tuesday was former Buccaneers quarterback Shaun King, who unloaded this unabridged stream of criticism:
This workout is why im not a big george Whitfield fan. He has winston doing way too much foolishness
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 No matter what kinda shape u r in, as a former qb u r big time winded by now, especially with all the extra curricular stuff
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 This is all george whitfield and his stick. Every year he adds something else unnecessary to make himself look like some kinda qb whiz
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 I mean whitfield should be ashamed of himself for this. On throw 80 ima hv jameis change direction twice and then throw a corner route smdh
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 Its amazing agents keep sending their guys out to whitfield. Name one qb he has made better? He blew up off Luck, luck came ready made
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 Im serious tebow, manziel, Gabbert, manuel all these guys went to whitfield, which 1 did he make better......
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 Cant wait to hear whitfield say "this is just how we wanted the workout to go. Winston really showed good change of direction."
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 A pro day workout is about showcasing what a player does well. Its a highlight reel. Winston is NEVER gonna be a quick twitch athlete.
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 And yall know im a big Jameis Winston guy but i keep it 100. That workout was C+ at best. His footwork was bad and he was inaccurate.
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 Think about this, whitfield wanted to show winston can move, after that workout do u now consider him an athletic qb?
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 No, my point is guys r what they r. Winston is never gonna be cam newton so why even go down that street.
— shaun king (@realshaunking) March 31, 2015 Winston's workout was a bit underwhelming, according to those in attendance. His throwing program of 102 passes was grueling by the standards of most quarterback workouts. Winston is still in contention to be the first quarterback (and perhaps first player) taken in the NFL Draft, but according to King, whatever success Winston has won't have much to do with Whitfield.
Not everyone agrees with that. Luck and Newton "swear" by Whitfield's methods. Bruce Arians, the Steelers' offensive coordinator when Roethlisberger started working with Whitfield, praised Whitfield last year when Whitfield was working with Johnny Manziel.
“Any time you have a guy who believes as passionately as he does about his craft then he’s a good teacher,” Arians told Cleveland.com. “That’s all we are: teachers. He’s teaching guys good techniques and as long as they’re working hard at their craft then God bless he’s doing a good job with his business.”
The concern that King and others may have, however, is that Whitfield may not be doing what is best for his students. It is possible that his reputation precedes him. Whitfield has plenty of high-profile clients who have struggled in the NFL, too. The Bills' EJ Manuel is running out of time to prove he was worth a first-round pick, and Manziel's current career trajectory is well off the projected course. As a coaching intern with the 49ers during the 2014 offseason, Whitfield's effect on the passing game was negligible -- San Francisco finished with the 18th-best passer rating in the league, down from ninth the year before.
Coaches are judged on nebulous criteria, so Whitfield’s critics and proponents will always have an argument to make. As long as he has the trust of blue-chip passers, however, the brooms won’t be going away.
SB Nation presents: Winston goes to Tampa Bay in our latest mock draft
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