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With the backdrop of negative publicity stemming from being accused of raping a fellow student, Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston was named the winner of the 2013 Heisman Trophy in New York Saturday evening.

But since the charges were dropped and the case dismissed, obviously the voting committee decided that Winston deserved the award due to his above average exploits on the field.

Winston had an incredible year guiding the Seminoles to an unbeaten season and a berth in the national championship game against Auburn in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl on Jan 6, 2014.

For most in the sports world, he came to their attention with an incredible performance in the Seminoles’ opening victory at Pittsburgh and never stopped, finishing the season with 3,820 passing yards and 38 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Winston completed 67.9 percent of his passes and led the nation in passing efficiency.

Interestingly, Winston won by the seventh-largest margin of any Heisman winner with 2,205 points, but 13 percent of voters left him off their ballots completely.

Coming in seconf in the voting was Alabama’s AJ McCarron (704), Northern Illinois’ Jordan Lynch (558) was third and Boston College’s Andre Williams (470) was fourth. Last year’s Heisman winner, sophomore QB Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M (421) was fifth in the voting and Auburn’s Tre Mason (404) finished sixth.

 

A native of Hueytown, Ala., Winston was rated by several scouting services as nation’s the No. 1 quarterback prospect, choosing Florida State over Alabama and Auburn. He sat out last season as a redshirt while E.J. Manuel quarterbacked the Seminoles to an ACC title and Orange Bowl victory. Winston is also an elite baseball prospect who played for Florida State last spring and plans to play again this year, according to USA Today.

You might wonder how he feels about being a two-sport athlete. Well, on Friday, he said it was his goal to exceed the accomplishments of the last truly great 2-sport star, Bo Jackson.

“I want to do both the rest of my life,” Winston said. “That’s my dream.”

As we alluded to at the top, Winston’s path to the Heisman Trophy was nearly derailed on Nov. 14 when a sexual battery complaint from last December resurfaced publicly. That prompted the State Attorney in Florida’s 2nd judicial circuit to conduct an investigation, concluding Dec. 7 with the announcement that there was not enough evidence to file charges.

Jasmeis Winston is Florida State’s third Heisman winner. He joins fellow quarterbacks Charlie Ward in 1993 and Chris Weinke in 2000.

“To win that trophy would be a dream come true but just reflect on how our team has prepared itself and had a great season, and I’d really like that for them,” Winston said earlier Saturday. “This has been a special year for me and for Florida State. In the spring we made a decision to be great, and we’ve been doing what we need to do. We’ve been preparing ourselves every game and it comes directly from