What does the youngest player to ever win the Heisman Trophy do to prepare for the Bowl Championship Series national title game?
Devise a plan to get ready for the upcoming baseball season.
Between practices in preparation to face Auburn on Jan. 6 in Pasadena, Calif., Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston has mapped out his routine.
“He felt he hit the field a little late last year,” said Texas Rangers national cross-checker Clarence Johns, who has remained close with Winston two years after the Rangers drafted the dual-sport star. “He talked about when the bowl game is over, how he can hit the ground running.”
This was just the latest example of Winston’s dogged pursuit of two-sport stardom, his mission to play both football and baseball at the next level, following in the footsteps of Florida State great Deion Sanders.
“I’ve been in pro baseball for about 20 years, I’ve played along some guys and scouted some guys who played both sports,” Johns said. “To a man, I don’t know one who has been more determined than Jameis.”
Winston made his intentions crystal clear at Heisman weekend in New York City. During his acceptance speech, he gave a shoutout to “11” and “Meat” — Florida State head baseball coach Mike Martin Sr. and assistant coach Mike Martin Jr.
After winning the Heisman, Winston was asked about his plans for baseball. Flashing his trademark smile, he said: “To keep playing, baby. That’s what I do.
“That’s part of my character because I don’t feel like I can play football without baseball. I don’t feel like I can play baseball without football.”
Some have compared him to Bo Jackson, who shares a hometown — Bessemer, Ala. — and a Heisman with Winston. Ultra confident, Winston hasn’t backed down from such lofty praise.
“I want to be better than Bo Jackson, hopefully,” he said. “Of course I want to keep doing both. That’s my dream.”
Before he became a household name this fall as a redshirt freshman — a season nearly derailed by a sexual-assault accusation the Florida State Attorney ‘s Office declined to prosecute — leading the top-ranked Seminoles to their best season since 1999, setting freshman records in passing yards (3,820) and touchdowns (38), he already had enjoyed a solid season on the diamond. A hard-throwing reliever with a fastball in the low 90s and starting right fielder, Winston pitched 27 innings, striking out 21, notching a 3.00 ERA and giving up 12 hits. Opposing batters hit .176 against him. He batted .235 with three triples and nine RBIs, as the Seminoles reached the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament.
“He could be a first-round draft choice,” Mike Martin Sr. said.
Winston was already drafted, taken in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Rangers out of Hueytown High School. While Winston, the 22nd-ranked high school prospect in the nation at the time according to Perfect Game, didn’t sign, he and the Rangers were involved in serious talks until the July 15 deadline passed.
Johns said the Rangers discussed detailed plans with Winston and his family of how they could make his desire to play both sports work had he signed. According to the plan, he wouldn’t have played pro ball that first summer, but the Rangers would have sent different minor league instructors to Tallahassee to work with Winston. During spring break, they would have flown Winston to their minor league complex in Sunrise, Ariz., for a week of workouts, and that summer he would have played rookie ball in the Arizona League.
Rangers assistant general manager A.J. Preller said the team saw Winston as a major league prospect, an outfielder first. Johns saw above average tools, power, arm strength and speed. Most of all, Texas was drawn to Winston’s makeup, his confident yet not cocky swagger, his “it” factor as Johns described the charismatic youngster.
When Johns met with him, Winston talked about his deficiencies more than his strengths, he spoke in detail about a list of goals he wrote down for himself at a young age — from grade-point average to sports accomplishments.
“He looked you in the eyes and had a sense of determination about himself,” Johns said. “We’re talking about a guy in the day of showcase and travel baseball, he probably played roughly 30, 40 games a year, where his peer group played 150 games a year. And when you put him on the field next to these guys, he not only held his own, but he was definitely a prospect.
“When you sit down and speak to this young man, he has championship aura about him. … I would not bet against him.”
Shortly after the draft, the Rangers invited Winston to Arlington for a recruiting visit along with the team’s top picks, and he quickly became the group’s leader.
“He was taking over the room within a few minutes of being around all these guys,” Preller said. “Everything was so positive, happy, fun-loving, but he was going to push guys. We saw that right away.”
Winston ended up at Florida State, in part, because of the opportunity to play both sports, a nod to the dual recruiting effort by football coach Jimbo Fisher and Martin.
The football team’s practice field is near the baseball team’s batting cages, so Winston will finish up practice in pads, and trade them in for a batting helmet and a bat. During the spring, he juggles the two sports, at times missing a road trip for spring football practice.
“They make it easy for me,” Winston said of the two coaches.
Boston College running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Andre Williams ran track and played football in high school. He couldn’t imagine doing two sports at the collegiate level.
“To play baseball and football, that’s Bo Jackson status,” Williams said. “He’s a phenom.”
Martin coached Sanders, who he said made himself into a major league player with a relentless work ethic and perseverance Martin hasn’t seen in another student-athlete. But Winston is ahead of Sanders as a baseball player at this stage as far as talent goes.
“He is certainly capable,” Martin said, when asked if Winston could follow Sanders’ and Jackson’s path and play in both the major leagues and NFL. “I just don’t know how practical it would be.
“The only way we would find out is if he would give it a chance.”
Jameis Winston is planning on it, thinking ahead to the diamond as the biggest game of the college football season nears.