INDIANAPOLIS — Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston is no stranger to red flags, but a new one emerged Friday when his personal quarterback coach, George Whitfield Jr., confirmed that Winston, the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, was held up because of extensive testing on his throwing shoulder.

“Brand-new news to me,” Whitfield said Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine as media waited for Winston to arrive for a press conference postponed Thursday.

Whitfield has worked directly with Winston since mid-January. He said velocity tests show Winston is actually getting stronger. They last worked out Tuesday in Ann Arbor, Mich., for 90 minutes. “It’s actually a little bit of shock.”

ESPN first reported Winston underwent an electromyography, a test that measures the health and function of nerves and muscles in the shoulder.

The health questions will be answered by doctors on the scene and Winston could be asked to return for a medical re-check before the draft if physicians determine there is cause for a greater concern.

NFL teams already are investigating other matters that could drag down Winston’s value, including an alleged sexual assault for which he was never charged, theft of crab legs from a grocery store and an incident in the Florida State student union in which he stood on a table and shouted a profane statement.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are digging into Winston’s background and, as the team with the No. 1 pick in the draft, could prove to be the only team that the 21-year-old must convince he’s worthy of their pick. Coach Lovie Smith, praised by past and present players for his own character, sounded convinced that Winston could be the face of the franchise.

“Right now, with the information that we have right now,” Smith said Wednesday, before news of Winston’s medical concern was known. “I understand the allegations against him. I understand that he went through the justice system, the court system to be exonerated on some allegations against him. I understand the college things a lot of guys do that you wish you wouldn’t later on.

“I understand some of the things that he did that are on his record right now. We just take all the information that we can possibly get right now. It’s early. Keep in mind that we’re just to the combine right now. We have a lot more research to do, and we’ll do that. But with the information we have right now, we haven’t taken him off of our list right now.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know and spend time not only with Jameis but Marcus (Mariota and) the rest of the athletes this week.”

Mariota, also 21 years old and the reigning Heisman winner, is choir-boy clean. His worst off-the-field offense? A speeding ticket in Oregon. On the field, questions about how his unique skill-set will translate to the NFL are more of a projection.

Mariota and Winston do need to convince some coaches and general managers that they can speak the NFL language at quarterback. Many of the rudimentary functions of the position in a pro-style scheme are unfamiliar to college quarterbacks. Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater made the transition relatively well in his rookie season in 2014 after being drafted 32nd overall. Bridgewater took snaps under center — Mariota admits he hasn’t “huddled in a while” — but also operated many of the sped-up spread looks that fuel Oregon’s offense.

“There was a time when people felt the shotgun and all this wide-open offense in college would hinder a quarterback playing in the NFL because you have to teach them to get under center,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “The reality of it is pressure, third down, key situational football is the biggest challenge for a young quarterback, and I think these college programs have done an outstanding job of playing wide open and asking the quarterbacks to do more. I think they’re much better prepared today than they were when I first got in the league.”

Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider and Houston Texans GM Rick Smith said this week there is a greater challenge evaluating quarterbacks from offenses such as Oregon’s and draft grades must be assigned largely on best guesses.

Winston lost some of the precision he had as a freshman with 18 interceptions in 2014, but his football intelligence, ability to throw with anticipation, arm strength and poise are graded highly by evaluators. Put another way, when Winston is wearing a helmet, there are no doubts from general managers about him making it in the NFL.

Assuming his shoulder checks out, what’s left to decide is whether Winston is really the one.

Whitfield, Winston’s training partner, Bryce Petty from Baylor, and FSU teammates claim Winston is misunderstood.

“He’s a really good guy. He has great character,” Florida State center Cameron Erving said. “I mean, anybody who is around the guy at any point in time, you just know he loves to have fun. He loves doing what he does. A lot of people think he’s a bad guy, he’s a troubled character, but that’s not an issue for him. He’s a great guy. If you asked for the shirt off his back, he’d give it to you.”