Here we go again.
Just about a month ago, eyes all across the college football landscape collectively rolled when the father of Jameis Winston was quoted as saying that the family “want[s] Jameis to succeed with one more year in baseball and two more years in football.” Provided off-field concerns don’t derail it, the Florida State quarterback, who’d be draft-eligible in 2015 because he’d be three years removed from high school, would stand a very good chance of going No. 1 overall in the NFL draft next April/May.
Most people aren’t buying the “two more year” talk. Winston, though, has once again hinted that could very well be the case.
At the Manning Passing Academy Friday, Winston was asked about his future with the Seminoles. The redshirt sophomore’s response, and his focus, may surprise you.
“It’s very important to me. I was always raised as a student first and an athlete second,” Winston said to NFL.com in regards to earning his degree before moving on to the NFL.
“I think that’s the main purpose in college. Some athletes lose that perspective. It’s about being a student-athlete, and not just getting that easy money and going to the league. Even if kids leave early, I would want them to come back and get that degree.”
Winston, incidentally, is majoring in social science with a business minor.
It would tremendous for the game of college football in general and the Seminoles in particular if Winston returned for at least two more seasons (he technically has three years of eligibility remaining). Still, Winston will have a decision to make at some point before mid-January: remain in college as the big fish in a small pond, or head off to the money-green waters of the NFL.
We’re thinking that, right now, no one, including Winston himself, has a clue what the future six months down the road holds.