Jameis Winston has a growing fan club. This special club is comprised mainly of his teammates – and opponents.
Jameis Winston plays at a high level onthe football and baseball fields. Anycollege that chooses him better let himplay both sports.
File photo by Joe Boyd
The 6-foot-4, 195-pound junior at
Hueytown (Ala.) is easy to spot. He's the kid snagging grounders as the Gophers shortstop or chasing down fly balls in center field with the ease of Alabama's legendary Hall of Famer Willie Mays. Mays, a high school football quarterback himself, grew up in nearby Westfield in the late 1940s but turned pro with the Birmingham Black Barons baseball club when he was a junior and was forced to give up football since he was no longer considered an amateur.
Winston loves baseball, says Hueytown football coach Matt Scott.
"The college who gets him needs to know that," Scott warns.
Of course, professional and college baseball scouts need to understand one other small bit of information about this natural-born leader.
"He loves football too," Scott says. "He plans to play both in college."
In a state such as Alabama, talking about baseball and football in the same breath is almost blasphemous. College quarterbacks – and Winston is expected to be a good one at that – are typically expected to give up baseball for more important things like, say, spring training football, once they get to college.
A Day Games in Alabama in 2011 drew more than 90,000 fans to Bryant-Denny Stadium earlier this month for the 2009 national champion Crimson Tide and more than 50,000 at Jordan-Hare Stadium for Auburn, the 2010 national champions.
Where does a kid like Winston, rated the state's top football prospect by Tom Lemming and MaxPreps for the Class of 2012, fit in? As a quarterback he has all the tools. Strengths include his cool under pressure, his poise and ability to lead and, of course, his incredible arm and running ability.
As a baseball player, he has a golden arm, can hit from either side of the plate and has the knack of almost always delivering in the clutch. Consider last week's Class 5A first-round state playoff series at Hueytown's Short Field against Sylcauga. The Gophers (32-7) lost the first game of the best-of-three series 4-1. In game two, Winston hit a home run and pitched a two-hitter as Hueytown won 4-1 to force game three. The Gophers advanced to the second round in game three with a rousing 11-1 win.
Winston wants to be a closer in college and also wants to be an everyday player in the lineup. Already this season he has hit a home run from each side of the plate in a game. Earlier in the week, he pitched three innings in relief, struck out five and got the save in a 3-0 win over playoff contender Walker.
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