Jameis Winston, arguably the best quarterback in Florida State history, is turning pro after three years in Tallahassee, according to an ESPN report. He is projected to be a first-round draft choice, perhaps as high as the No. 1 overall pick.
During his time in Tallahassee, Winston went 27-1 as a starter, and captured the 2013 Heisman Trophy. With prototypical size and ability to fit the football over and in front of defenders with tremendous anticipation and football intelligence, it's easy to see why Winston is such a wanted man by the NFL.
Winston's 2013 season recap in Florida State's media guide speaks to how historic his 2013 season was.
"The dazzling playmaker and charismatic leader authored the greatest freshman season by a quarterback in college football history...led Florida State to a 14-0 record and the 2013 VIZIO BCS National Championship...named Offensive MVP of the national championship game by throwing for 237 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-31 come-from-behind victory over No. 2 Auburn at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif....engineered the game-winning seven-play, 80-yard drive that started with just 1:11 remaining in the game and FSU trailing 31-27 and ended with a two-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin to give FSU the lead with 13 seconds left...became the youngest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy at 19 years, 342 days and just the second freshman...won the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback and the Manning Award...was also a finalist for the Maxwell Award...first freshman to capture ACC Player of the Year honors in the 61-year history of the Atlantic Coast Conference...also captured ACC Offensive Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year honors...shattered the ACC record, Florida State record and national freshman record for touchdown passes (40) and broke the national freshman record for passing yards (4,057)...is the first freshman to lead his team to 14 wins...All-ACC First Team...led the nation and set the ACC record in pass efficiency rating (184.8)...ranked first in the nation in yards per attempt (10.6) and second in touchdown passes (40)...tossed 26 touchdowns and passed for 2,641 yards in just the first half alone...threw more first-half touchdowns than 105 starting quarterbacks had in all snaps...thanks to huge leads - only played in 82 percent of Florida State's total offensive snaps and just 62 percent of the Noles' second-half snaps...seven-time ACC Rookie of the Week...three-time ACC Offensive Back of the Week...three-time Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week...seven 300-yard passing games...eight three-touchdown passing games...threw for over 200 yards in the first half nine times...guided the most prolific offense in school and conference history as the Noles set FSU and ACC records for single-season total offense (7,267 yards) and the national record for total points (723), while averaging 51.6 points per game...FSU led the nation with 94 touchdowns...opened the season by completing the first 11 passes of his career on the road at Pitt en route to setting an FSU record for completion percentage (92.6)...completed 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns in his debut against the Panthers...signature performance came at then-No. 3 Clemson...led FSU to a 51-14 victory over the Tigers by throwing for a career-best 444 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing score...MVP of the ACC Championship Game after throwing for 330 yards and compiling four total touchdowns...torched No. 25 Maryland for 393 passing yards and a career-high five touchdowns in a 63-0 win...one of those touchdown passes against the Terrapins was a 12-yard highlight reel touchdown pass to junior tight end Nick O'Leary where he spun out of a sack and eluded another tackle before completing the throw...after throwing his first interception of the season against Nevada, he finished the game going 13-of-13 for 184 yards and two touchdowns...eluded a sack and tossed an amazing 55-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Kenny Shaw as time expired at the end of the first half at Boston College to give FSU a 24-17 lead at the break...led FSU to a 48-34 win against the Eagles after trailing 17-3...was 11-of-14 for 229 yards and three touchdowns in just the first quarter against NC State...completed more than 90 percent of his passes for the second time when he finished 19-of-21 (90.5 percent) for 277 yards and two touchdowns versus Syracuse...was 19-of-31 for 327 yards and three touchdowns at Florida, who entered the game with the nation's third-best pass defense and hadn't allowed a 300-yard passer in 42 games...rushed for 193 yards and four touchdowns on the season...named to the All-ACC Academic Football Team...one of two football players honored for his academic success at the 2013 Golden Torch banquet at Florida State in the fall."
2014 was not as good statistically, and included 18 interceptions, but coach Jimbo Fisher believed his quarterback was even better, having to deal with a lot of new, younger receivers who directly caused a number of the turnovers.
NFL teams will need to do their own research on Winston's off-field issues and reputation. The quarterback was accused of a 2012 sexual assault, but the State Attorney determined that the evidence does not support a charge. Winston was also found not responsible for four code-of-conduct charges in a hearing conducted by the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida.