National Football League

Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith endorses QB Jameis Winston

Published Mar. 25, 2015 8:51 p.m. ET

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Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith wouldn't come right out and say it. He sure gave every indication that the Buccaneers were ready to make Jameis Winston the No. 1 pick in next month's NFL Draft, though.

Not that that's any big surprise. The Bucs have shown signs all along that the Florida State quarterback would be their choice.

Smith, speaking when NFC coaches met the media at the league meetings Wednesday, said Winston and his off-the-field issues have been researched thoroughly. The coach said he is satisfied with the results.

''You have to look a guy in the eye and feel comfortable with the answers that you're getting,'' Smith said. ''and I feel comfortable with them.''

Smith said Winston knows he has made some bad decisions.

''He's admitted the mistakes that he's made,'' the coach said. ''I'm one that believes in second chances, especially young people. You can't indict young people for some stupid things that they do early on. We all clean up.''

Winston has been at the center of several incidents, from stealing crab legs from a grocery store to investigation of an alleged sexual assault (no charges were filed). He was seen jumping on a table in the campus student union and a screaming a sexually charged obscenity.

''Jameis would be the first guy to tell you that he has made some of those same mistakes over and over again,'' Smith said. ''My experience has shown me that young people do make mistakes and you have to do your research to see if that's a pattern that will continue, or a situation where you think a young man is ready to mature and not make those same decisions.''

Smith said the Buccaneers ''feel like he's in a position where he's made some mistakes, and made a few after that, but we think that is behind him. That's why we feel comfortable with him.''

Looking to shore up concerns about his character, Winston sought and received a meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

''We were incredibly clear about our expectations of anyone who enters the NFL or is in the NFL,'' Goodell said at his news conference Wednesday, ''what we expect of anyone as men.''

The commissioner said he made sure Winston had full insight into the league's personal conduct policy.

''Our conversations were extremely candid,'' Goodell said.

Smith threw in a glowing reference to Marcus Mariota, too.

Someone asked the differences in the two quarterbacks.

''I ain't telling you all my secrets,'' Smith said.

One of them seemed pretty much out of the bag.