Jameis Winston's father reiterates plan for Winston to play two more years at FSU
So far, the idea that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will play for two more years in college hasn't changed.
His father, Antonor Winston, told AL.com that he believes his son will stay in school and that the family has "never strayed" from the idea that Winston won't turn pro after 2014.
"We want Jameis to succeed with one more year in baseball and two more years in football," the elder WInston said. "We've never strayed from our plan that he is going to be in college until he gets that degree."
As a redshirt sophomore in 2014, Winston would be eligible, a la Johnny Manziel, to declare for the NFL draft at the conclusion of the season. Previously, Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher has said that he thinks Winston, the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner, will stay in school for two more years, sentiments that Winston called accurate shortly thereafter.
If he enters the 2015 NFL draft after the season, Winston is expected to compete with Oregon's Marcus Mariota to not only be the first quarterback taken in the draft but the first player taken as well.
Winston's father also told AL.com that Jameis changed his major from pre-med to engineering and when he first went to college he had a goal of becoming a podiatrist.
In May, after Winston was issued a citation for shoplfting crab legs for crawfish, his father told USA Today that he hoped Winston learned from the spotlight and that Florida State was supposed to have someone with him all of the time because of the increased scrutiny that came with being a Heisman winner and the attention that Winston received off the field.
The two seasons of football and one season of baseball plan makes sense to prepare for the NFL draft if Winston doesn't declare until after the 2016 season. He would be unable to do all of the draft prep necessary for a high pick in football and play baseball at the same time.
Winston will be eligible for the 2015 MLB draft (thanks to being in school for three years), though a team would likely only use a high pick on him if they knew he would sign and forego football, which is a longshot.
While all the signs still point to Winston staying two more seasons, a lot can happen in a 14-game college football season. If Winston has another Heisman-type season, passing up the NFL may be awfully hard. Simply put, while it's clearly not a public foregone conclusion that Winston is leaving Florida State after the season, the only way we'll know definitively about his 2015 future is when the deadline for early entry into the draft passes.
For more Florida State news, visit Warchant.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
