Discipline during open practices is a different animal.
6:45 EST Update: Fisher heaped praise on Ramsey in a media session that was originally not scheduled to take place Monday.
Fisher: "Jalen gets upset, I get upset, that's ball. We've moved on." #FSU
— Ariya Massoudi (@AriyaMassoudi) August 11, 2014Jimbo: Jalen Ramsey was back at practice today. He's as good of a player as we've got. He's a great kid.
— FSU Football (@FSU_Football) August 11, 2014Fisher on Ramsey/Williams debacle: "I probably shouldn't have walked over and talked about it to y'all (media)."
— Ariya Massoudi (@AriyaMassoudi) August 11, 2014Fisher admitted that both he & Jalen Ramsey are emotional guys. Fisher: "He'a a great human being." Said he's as good a leader as they have.
— Natalie Pierre (@Natalie_Pierre) August 11, 20144 PM EST Update: Ramsey is back at practice
On Sunday, Jimbo Fisher kicked Jalen Ramsey out of Florida State football's open practice. The move came after Ramsey, on a blitz, leveled Karlos Williams, who fell back into quarterback Jameis Winston. Ramsey had been previously involved in several other over-aggressive incidents during practice, including popping an unsuspecting freshman tight end, and a a skirmish with Karlos Williams in which the instigator was unclear. Ramsey had been warned to knock it off.
This is certainly not the first time a player has been kicked out of practice. That happens much more often than you might think. And it's not even the first time during an open practice that a player has been kicked out (Telvin Smith, in Fisher's first or second year as a head coach).
I didn't have a problem with Fisher kicking Ramsey out of practice. In fact, it can sometimes be good to show that your leader or best player must follow the rules just like everyone else. Ramsey has a reputation for going very hard in practice, sometimes crossing the line. And he did defy Jimbo Fisher's commands to cut it out. The open practice was also not the first time that Ramsey has been told about this.
I also wonder why another Ramsey blitz was called right after the other incidents. That basically guaranteed that Ramsey and Williams would be hitting each other, and invited confrontation from guys who were still hot at each other.
Ramsey is a cocky player and a leader, and sometimes coaches have to reign those players in. Williams is also cocky, and this is not the first time that he and Ramsey have had their competitive spirits get entangled to excess.
But I do have a problem with how Fisher did it and how he handled the aftermath.
Fisher, like many coaches, can get really hot in practice. And he is used to a closed practice environment. Sunday, however, wasn't that setting, and Fisher failed to adjust his actions to fit the open practice format.
Kicking a player out while, according to multiple reports, audibly yelling "indefinitely suspended" and telling the player to go back to Tennessee (Ramsey is from Tennessee) in an open practice setting just does not cut it.
Fisher then did not calm down enough to quell the issue when talking with the media, implying that Ramsey's future with the team was in jeopardy, and that Ramsey, who has never had a public disciplinary incident, had a "lack of character."
Some things simply must be handled in-house. Fisher should have declined comment and handled it internally. In losing control of his emotions, both at the time of the ejection, and during the media interview, he disrespected Ramsey publicly and crossed the line when talking about Ramsey's character.
As a result, non-FSU news outlets are running with the quotes that imply Ramsey's future with the team is in jeopardy, or broadcasting that he was targeting Jameis Winston.
Stuff like that results in ESPN shows speculating about Ramsey's future, and idiot talking heads on TV saying they wouldn't let him back on the team, despite not knowing the full story. Now Ramsey is painted in a much worse light than he should be.
Both Fisher and Ramsey could have handled the situation differently, but ultimately, Fisher is the professional while Ramsey is the college student. The greater burden here falls on the head coach.
As for the rumors that Ramsey was kicked off the team, or that he quit the team, multiple sources tell me that those are not true, and that Ramsey and the coaching staff have resolved their differences as to this issue.