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FSU Quarterback Jameis Winston Picked First In NFL Draft

NPR | By Eyder Peralta
Published April 30, 2015 at 8:17 PM EDT
Jameis Winston of the Florida State Seminoles attempts a pass during the game against the Florida Gators on Nov. 30.
Sam Greenwood
/
Getty Images
Jameis Winston of the Florida State Seminoles attempts a pass during the game against the Florida Gators on Nov. 30.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Florida State University quarterback Jameis Winston as their first-round pick in the NFL draft on Thursday.

Winston was awarded the Heisman trophy in 2013 just nine days after a prosecutor declined charge him over allegations that he raped a female student at Florida State.

Here's a bit of Winston's bio from NFL.com:

"Winston started every game during his final two seasons at Florida State, winning his first 26 games as a starter before losing his final game in the 2014 national semifinal. Only QB in college football since 1964-65 to win his first 26 starts. Winston tossed at least one touchdown pass in every game of his collegiate career, throwing 65 touchdowns in 27 career games. Was a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year award in 2014. As a redshirt freshman in 2013, Winston was a Consensus All-American and was the Heisman Trophy Winner. In the first start of his career, completed 25 of 27 passes to set the Florida State all-time record for single-game completion percentage. Played two seasons with the Seminoles' baseball team and was used primarily as a relief pitcher, holding opponents to a .154 batting average as a sophomore and a .175 batting average as a freshman."

Quarterback Marcus Mariota, who led the Oregon Ducks all the way to the national title game was picked second by the Tennessee Titans.

Despite losing the national title to Ohio State, Mariota was awarded the Heisman in 2014. It was the first win for the Ducks.

Here's what NFL.com says about him:

"In 41 career starts, he rushed for 15 touchdowns and passed for 105 against just 14 interceptions. He also caught a pair of passes, both resulting in touchdowns. Completed requirements for his undergraduate degree in general science at the end of the 2014 fall term (in less than four years) with a GPA of 3.22. As a redshirt sophomore in 2013, he was a Manning Award finalist and a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award (college player of the year), the Davey O'Brien Award (national quarterback award) and the Walter Camp Award (most outstanding player)."

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Eyder Peralta
Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.
See stories by Eyder Peralta
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