Jameis Winston might play football in the land of the sun, but he has ice running through his veins.
It’s rare to see a quarterback calm and poised going into the biggest game of his career, let alone a redshirt freshman. Actually, it’s not just rare, it’s unheard of in college sports.
Yet the Florida State quarterback gave America a reason to think otherwise this past Saturday.
In a profile ESPN aired about Winston prior to the Clemson game three weeks ago, he was seen with a smile on his face and no sign of fear or doubt. He had one thing on his mind: winning.
And his stats didn’t disappoint.
The Heisman hopeful went 22-of-34 for 444 passing yards and three touchdowns, as well as a rushing touchdown. He finished the victory with a quarterback rating of 89.4.
Two weeks later, he found himself in the same situation again.
This past Saturday, Florida State faced its rival Miami and once again, Winston was shining on the big stage.
I don’t think Winston’s mindset was any different from this game than the Miami game. I believe he still entered the game with a calm mind and a positive attitude, which is hard not to like.
His stats against the Hurricanes showed that not stressing too much over the game can produce better results than too much stress.
Winston threw for one touchdown, completing 21-of-29 pass attempts for 325 yards. As far as his running game, he ran for 27 yards on six attempts with an average of 4.5 yards a carry.
To me, that still is a great game for someone who didn’t go in stressing about it and wanting to go out and win.
Not only does he keep a calm mind while on the field on game day, but also with his name being thrown around as a Heisman candidate.
It’s rare for a freshman to win the Heisman, let alone back-to-back years.
Johnny Manziel did it last year, so why can’t Winston continue the trend? His stats would justify the voters’ decision to choose Winston over Manziel.
Through his first eight games last season, Manziel had 16 passing touchdowns, but Winston has 24 this season through the same number of games.
The same can be said for the quarterback rating of the two players, as Manziel had an 80.1 rating for his first eight games last year, while Winston has a rating of 90.0 through his first eight this year.
If he keeps this level of production up, he will for sure be handed the Heisman trophy this year.
The only other quarterback I know that has stayed calm throughout an entire season with big rivalries and the Heisman buzz is Tim Tebow back when he was at Florida.
Although he doesn’t sing gospel songs on the sideline, tapes scriptures under his eyes for the game and have his own touchdown pose, Winston knows how to stay calm and get the job done.
Wynston Wilcox is a freshman and writes for The Post. Who do you think should win the Heisman Trophy? Email him at ww773412@ohiou.edu.
