Jameis Winston

Jameis Winston
(Famous Jameis)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 190 lb.
• School Florida State University
• High School Hueytown High School

• Born January 6, 1994 in Hueytown, AL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Jameis Winston has been a college player.

Winston hit .370 as a high school junior and was 7-2 as a pitcher. The next year, he batted .424 with 7 homers and was 8-3 with two saves and a 1.92 ERA. Due to a strong college commitment, he fell to the 15th round of the 2012 amateur draft, when the Texas Rangers took him. As a freshman at Florida State University, he hit .235/.377/.345 as a part-time RF-DH and was 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA on the hill. His fastball was timed at 95 mph. He then won the Heisman Trophy as the FSU quarterback in 2013, throwing for 40 touchdowns and over 4,000 yards. He was far from the first baseball player to win the Heisman, following Bo Jackson, Vic Janowicz, Chris Weinke and Ricky Williams; Charlie Ward had also been drafted twice but never played pro baseball. Ward and Weinke had both been FSU quarterbacks as well.

In interviews in early 2014, Winston talked about trying to make the major leagues as a pitcher and the NFL as a quarterback, as a two-sport player like Deion Sanders. He played in a FSU-New York Yankees spring training contest, entering as a backup in left field. He grounded out against Shane Greene and fanned on a full count against Bryan Mitchell. During that game, he attracted more media attention than the Yankees' star players. He suffered the first loss of his college football career on January 1, 2015, when FSU was beaten, 59-20, by the University of Oregon in the Rose Bowl. It didn't phase him, however, as he explained immediately after the game: "I'm just looking forward to baseball." Indeed, he had put up a 1.08 ERA in 33 1/3 innings for the Seminoles the previous season, while striking out 31 batters, and was still considered a top baseball prospect. However, he was then drafted first overall in the 2015 NFL draft, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which put any further plans of playing baseball on ice. He signed a pro contract and began playing for the Buccaneers that season.

Related Sites

• Pro Football Reference page
• Florida State University bio