For those of you that don’t already know it, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Jameis Winston, has been busy lately playing baseball for the Seminoles. Last Friday evening he was playing baseball in Atlanta against Georgia Tech. Then early Saturday morning Winston flew down to Tallahassee to participate in Florida State’s spring football game.
That’s the sort of double life being led by the 20 year old quarterback who took the nation by storm last football season and led his Seminole team to the NCAA National Championship and won the coveted Heisman Trophy in the process, only the second freshman ever to win the award.
Coach Jimbo Fisher of the Seminoles told Winston, “The downfall of great players and great people is boredom.” Jameis Winston does not have time to be bored these days. Shortly after an impressive performance in the Florida State spring game, he was on a plane back to Atlanta to play some more baseball with the Yellow Jackets.
Winston tried to tell reporters, “I’m a regular college student.” Then he took off for the airport with a police escort. Right. But Winston seems to be handling the ‘rock-star’ popularity well considering all the attention being given him everywhere he goes.
Even though there was not much of anything to prove during the on campus spring game in Tallahassee, ‘Famous Jameis’, as he is known on campus, did not disappoint his fans. The Seminoles are getting back most of their national championship team and should be serious contenders once again.
Winston ended up throwing 56 passes in that game and completing 27 of them for 396 yards after a rather slow start. He was, once again… impressive. And not just on the playing field. Few young athletes have had the presence to keep it together so well under so much scrutiny and sooooo much pressure.
Winston could probably have declared for the NFL Draft last year and had a pretty good chance at signing a pro contract for big bucks but he chose to stay in school. When asked why, Jameis replied that he was just ‘having too much fun’ to leave.
But his attitude toward his quarterback position has changed somewhat, “Last year, I was more big play guy. This year, I’ve got to take on the challenge of being game manager.”
Would anyone care to venture a guess as to what position he plays on the Seminoles baseball team? He’s a pitcher, of course!
