In the interest of full disclosure I will fully admit that I am a Florida State alumnus and that I got two degrees from the university. Most of you already know that and the fact that I have liked this team since I was 2, but I wanted this out in the open before going on.
Here is my timeline of my reactions to Jameis Winston....
When Winston was recruited to play football and baseball at Florida State University I was beyond excited that we were getting such a rare talent.
During his true freshman season when he was being redshirted I was excited by what might be in football, but understanding (unlike some FSU fans) that it was still EJ's time and EJ should not be replaced by a Freshman. I think a lot of Winston's success came from learning at the hands of EJ during that season in which Winston was redshirted. It is also true that Winston learned a great deal from watching EJ play.
Later in the spring when he played baseball, I marveled at the talent that Winston had and was more excited after seeing what Jameis was able to do in the spring game.
Those first few games that HEISMAN AND NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WINNING football season I was amazed at the way this guy played. He came and announced himself and how good he was from day 1. I was amazed especially at how he got so much out of Kelvin Benjamin who did very little the year before, but always had fantastic talent. However, as excited as I was, I was cautious about my optimism because I realized how good these weapons were. I realized that every member of that offense would be in the NFL and most in a year or two. I wondered if the production would be quite the same without those same weapons. I knew the guy was fantastic though and deserved to be the #1 pick when it was time.
Then the rape allegation came. Not a charge, but a allegation. I have to be honest and admit that I didn't even think Jameis slept with the girl at first. The description in the police report was so far off the actual description of Jameis and to me it made the whole thing smell funny. Then as I learned more about the accuser I heard about the cleat chasing goals of the accuser and that she knew Jameis quite well. That made me convinced that he slept with her, but that it was 100% consensual.
Allegations would continue to come and Jameis would continue to move past it and perform. He was unflappable. Mudslinging from all corners and Winston would just win everything. This guy seemed like he could do anything on the field and was more and more impressive as time went on. The new allegations always seemed to come at the most inopportune time for Winston and the most opportune time from someone trying to make a buck and ruin a young man's life.
Winston of course was NEVER CHARGED and NEVER ARRESTED for the sexual assault accusation and was cleared time after time. After the case being dropped by Tallahassee PD, and later picked back up due to media pressure, (despite there being no good reason to pursue a bogus case) Winston was then not charged again by the Tallahassee DA. Now this is where the crazy conspiracy theories started about how the FSU Athletic Department, FSU PD, Tallahassee PD, and the Tallahassee DA all being in cohoots to protect Winston. This despite there being no evidence of this happening and the fact that it has been the exact opposite for years in Tallahassee. In fact, the District Attorney, William Meggs actually charged former Nole Travis Johnson of sexual assault with no evidence at an earlier date. Meggs would obviously lose that case as Johnson was an innocent man just like Jameis.
After Winston was cleared, he would go on to win the ACC Championship, win the Heisman, and win the National Title.
At that point I acknowledged Winston was the best QB and clearly the #1 pick, but I thought Hundley was pretty close. The amount of talent around Winston made me devalue him as a prospect. Hundley had less weapns and I wanted to see another season because of this. Winston was still the pick, but I thought Hundley was also Top 10 and had a shot to replace Winston. Marriota was not on my radar then as he isn't now because of his offense and the fact that he is not NFL ready. Unlike Winston haters though, I want all 3 to be successful. For that upcoming season though, I wanted to see what Winston did without studs like Kelvin Benjamin, Kenny Shaw, and Devonta Freeman.
During the offseason, Winston shoplifted crab legs from Publix (which appeared at the time to be a hookup gone wrong and today seemed to be confirmed). For this infraction, he had to do community service and was suspended from the baseball season. He was suspended from the sport he was in at the time and it was documented. He was not arrested because of a FL program to attempt not arrest or cite individuals with no criminal records for minor infractions. At this point and actually still to this day, Winston has no criminal record. However, myself and several other alums were disappointed in this instance. This was the first time I was truly disappointed in Winston's behavior. I do place a premium on athletes being great people after all.
Also throughout the offseason and into the season FSU conducted a Title IX investigation into its handling of the Jameis Winston case. This case would be decided by 1 of 3 former Supreme Court Justices in FL. Winston and the accuser each had the opportunity to select a judge and strike down a judge. After this process, both parties selected Chief Justice Harding. After hearing the case he did not find that Florida State or Jameis Winston had done anything to even violate the code of conduct of the school. He didn't even violate the code of conduct let alone do anything close to sexual assault or a crazy cover up. This justice, who happens to be one of the most respected lawyers and judges in Florida, that was selected by the accuser found no evidence that Winston did anything wrong.
During the season, Winston was even more impressive than the year before in my opinion honestly. He did not have the dominating team of the previous year, but on several occasions he willed his team to victory. Winston had a flair for the dramatic and won several games late. This guy was the king of the 4th quarter comeback.
As great as it was on the field for Winston, it got ugly off of it. Winston was accused week after week of doing all kinds of things wrong, but only one of the accusations proved true. That was a very inappropriate phrase yelled out near FSU's student union prior to the Clemson game. It involved some profanity and was not something that I would want anyone associated with my university saying. He would end up suspended from the Clemson game and would come out dressed for the game. Him dressing out just struck a cord with me because I was tired of my university being badmouthed everywhere because of one guy. A guy that didn't seem to be able to accept the consequences for his behavior.....I was just about done until I realized how misdirected my frustration was.....
It was not his fault that his uniform was placed in his locker and it was not his fault that he was the most scrutinized guy in the history of sports. He did not ask for this, he had just performed for my university. He has been falsely accused of more things than anybody since Jesus Christ. I firmly believe that. The stuff they say about this guy is unfathomable. And you know what...He just smiles carries on and carries himself with class. Most people want this guy dead or to fail miserably and he just goes about business. I have seen the most vulgar, hateful, insensitive things said about Jameis Winston and he just shakes it off. When I truly realized this, my opinion started to change.
As the season continued the mudslinging did too until fans finally got what they wanted...A Jameis Winston loss and his record to fall to 26-1 because that somehow makes everything okay.....
This last season and seeing everything Winston does had me convinced even more than year 1. This guy is the best quarterback prospect I have rated since at least Andrew Luck. I personally think he is better at this point than any quarterback since Sam Bradford to take it back further. Winston is so NFL ready and you already know he can handle the pressure. Jameis runs a pro style offense, he throws receivers open, he can handle intense situations, and he can put a team on his back and deliver them to victory. Shouldn't these qualities be celebrated? No not for Winston because of the hate, and some people have questions about interceptions because they don't look at the big picture.
Did you see the picks he threw? Some of them were just bad, but you realize most are the receiver running the wrong route, or a deflected ball, correct? You realize he runs that pro style offense and he has to throw those young receivers open, right? You realize that he always made it work for his Noles still and lost only 1 game in college right?
This is supposed to be some sort of insult? The guy losses one game in 2 years and it wasn't even his fault and you think this insults us?
HAHAHAHA
Every other team in America and every quarterback in every draft would kill for that record. You Gator fans went 4-8 during his title season. You Hurricane fans are rooting for a completely irrelevant team. And on and on...He was 26-1 by the way. Three of the wins during that winning streak were by quarterbacks other than Jameis. You saying he was 29-1 just shows that you think he is that good. Even the haters give him extra wins because you can't even imagine how this guy can ever possibly lose.
But, but, off the field concerns.....blah, blah, blah.
Do you realize how many horrible things Jameis Winston has been accused of and investigated for in great detail?
I can think of at least 15 accusations and the overwhelming majority have been proven to be complete nonsense and piling on. You know what people are so upset about Jameis Winston for.
Shoplifting crab legs
Cursing in public
Putting soda in a water cup
Shooting BB guns
Only those four instances are true and I can live with all of those. Given, I don't want them to happen and I was upset with Jameis when he did each, but these are things I see everyday (other than the crab legs incident). Is that really worth all the vitriol? Is that worth all the hate?
Truly think about it. All the money to be made on Winston failing, all the people trying to come up with things he did, all the people wanting him to fail, and we have four instances of him doing remotely anything wrong. That's it. Four minor infractions. Compare those infractions with what has happened this spring from Alabama football.......Let's just #BlameJameis for everything in the world though. If you can #BlameJameis than responsibility does not matter, right?
You know after everything last season and the crazy hate directed towards our university because of their hate for Jameis, FSU fans started to use the slogan embrace the hate. Well America, I think it is about the time you EMBRACE JAMEIS. Look at the facts and see why this guy is one of the most likable athletes in the country when it comes down to it. Talent and personality don't come around like this often and he's really a great guy, so just enjoy him while he's here. Hate really isn't a good look on you anyway.
Good luck Jameis on what is sure to be a fantastic NFL career.
-Noland
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