Florida State to retire Jameis Winston’s jersey

Florida State will add another name to the honorees inside Doak Campbell Stadium, with the university set to retire the jersey of Heisman Trophy winner and 2013 national champion Jameis Winston.

“The retirement of Jameis’ jersey will certainly be a great event on our campus,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford. “He had a huge impact on Florida State football, and his place as one of our all-time greats is unquestioned. I know we all look forward to seeing his No. 5 becoming a permanent part of Doak Campbell Stadium.”

In two seasons Jameis Winston went undefeated against Florida State’s rivals, undefeated at home, undefeated on the road, won two ACC championships, became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy as a freshman, quarterbacked the highest-scoring offense of all time and won a national championship, breaking a streak of seven straight titles by SEC teams. He had the best statistical season for any FSU quarterback ever, helped engineer one of the longest winning streaks in college football history, is the first and only FSU No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick, and he did all of it while also playing baseball (and pitching an ERA of 1.94) and only losing one final game on the gridiron.

Despite playing in just 27 games and in an offense arguably more complex than some NFL teams, Winston passed for 65 touchdowns and nearly 8,000 yards, and rushed for another 284 yards and seven touchdowns. His 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2013 set ACC and NCAA FBS freshman records and earned him a consensus All-American nod.

All of the other accolades followed: a two-time ACC first-team selection; the ACC Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Athlete of the Year; the Associated Press and Sporting News’ Player of the Year; and winner of the Walter Camp, Manning, Davey O’Brien, and Archie Griffin Awards.

At the Rose Bowl against Auburn, Winston helped engineer a second-half comeback for the ages. Down four with just 71 seconds left and nearly 70 yards from goal, Winston found Greene again for 49-yards, our 12th best play ever. Then, with just thirteen seconds left, Winston found Benjamin in the end zone and secured FSU’s third national championship.

The following season Winston had his share of struggles, but FSU again went undefeated in the regular season where the ’Noles would eventually fall in the playoffs, bringing their streak of 29 straight wins to an end.

Winston would forego his final two seasons of eligibility and enter the 2015 NFL Draft, where he would be selected No. 1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he has set numerous NFL and franchise records. He currently is a backup with the New Orleans Saints, recently appearing in relief of an injured Derek Carr and nearly engineering a comeback against the Minnesota Vikings in a 27-19 loss.

The university is set to honor the 10-year anniversary of the 2013 national championship this Saturday during the No. 4 Seminoles’ home finale against the North Alabama Lions, a game that also doubles as Senior Day,

Let’s take a trip down memory lane:

His historic debut as a redshirt freshman against the Pittsburgh Panthers where he went 25 of 27 for 356 yards with four passing touchdowns and another one on the ground:

Three games later Winston found more magic and wide receiver Kenny Shaw for a 55-yard touchdown against the Boston College Eagles, a play that was ranked as the 82nd best play in school history:

The very next week Winston would again channel Houdini and escape against Maryland and find tight end Nick O’Leary for yet another touchdown:

Next up was a showdown with No. 3 Clemson, memorialized here by ESPN radio host Jeff Cameron:

Winston and wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin would strike first with our 99th best play in Seminole history:

Winston would also find Rashad Greene for a 72-yard touchdown that was named the 36th best play in FSU history, and FSU would give Clemson its worst home loss in program history.

After also crushing North Carolina State on the back of five first quarter touchdowns, Winston and the ’Noles would expose No. 7 Miami for the pretenders they were:

Winston then hurdled Duke for a blowout ACC Championship win, ACC Championship Game MVP, and a berth in the national championship game.

The full release from FSU Sports Info:

Florida State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Michael Alford announced Wednesday that the jersey worn by 2013 Heisman Trophy winner and consensus All-America quarterback Jameis Winston will be retired following the first quarter of Saturday’s home game against North Alabama.

As a freshman in 2013, Winston led Florida State to a 14-0 record and the 2013 National Championship with a win over Auburn in the Rose Bowl. In the process, Winston became the youngest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy. In addition, Winston won the Davey O’Brien Award, the Manning Award and Walter Camp’s Player of the Year honors.

The Bessemer, Alabama, native became the first freshman ever to win ACC Player of the Year honors after recording 40 touchdown passes and setting the national freshman record for passing yards with 4,057 while also leading the country in pass efficiency rating at 184.8 in 2013.

As a sophomore, Winston led FSU to the national semifinals in the first-ever College Football Playoff where the Seminoles lost to Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

“The retirement of Jameis’ jersey will certainly be a great event on our campus,” said Alford. “He had a huge impact on Florida State football, and his place as one of our all-time greats is unquestioned. I know we all look forward to seeing his No. 5 becoming a permanent part of Doak Campbell Stadium.

Over his two-year career, Winston passed for 7,964 yards (fourth in FSU history) and 65 touchdowns (second in FSU history), while compiling a 26-1 record. His career pass efficiency mark (163.28) ranked as the 10th-best in college football history and is the FSU and ACC record. Winston won his first 26 starts - a feat unmatched by major NCAA Division I quarterbacks all-time. He was also a valuable member of Florida State’s nationally-ranked baseball team for two years as a pitcher and an outfielder, serving as the closer in 2014.

Winston left for the NFL in 2014 and became FSU’s first-ever No. 1 Draft pick when he was selected by Tampa Bay. He was the Buccaneers’ starting quarterback for five seasons and has been with the New Orleans Saints since 2020.

So far over his NFL career, Winston has completed 1,748 passes for 21,941 yards and 139 touchdowns.

Winston will become just the 11th FSU football player to be honored with the retirement of his number/jersey. He will join Seminole greats Fred Biletnikoff, Ron Sellers, Ron Simmons, Deion Sanders, Charlie Ward, Warrick Dunn, Chris Weinke, Derrick Brooks, Terrell Buckley and Marvin Jones.

Florida State began retiring the jersey rather than the number of its all-time great student-athletes in 1997.

A rundown of his accomplishments:

The youngest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy completed his 27-game career as one of the greatest quarterbacks in Florida State, ACC and college football history…won his first 26 starts – a feat unmatched by major NCAA Division I quarterbacks all-time…led Florida State to a national championship in 2013 and the first-ever College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl in 2014, capturing countless honors along the way, including the Heisman Trophy, Davey O’Brien, Manning Award and consensus All-America honors in 2013…his career pass efficiency mark (163.28) ranks 10th in college football history (since 1956) and is an ACC and FSU record…his 2013 pass efficiency mark of 184.84 is the fourth-best in college football history and is an ACC and FSU record…holds the ACC career record for passing yards per game (295.0) and touchdown passes per game (2.41)…holds the Florida State career records for consecutive touchdown passes (27) and yards per attempt (9.4), and is tied with Chris Weinke for most 300-yard games (14) despite playing only two seasons…ranks second in FSU history in touchdown passes (65) and completion percentage (66.0)…ranks third in FSU history in passing yards (7,964) and sixth in career completions (562)…holds FSU single-season records for completions (305; 2014), touchdown passes (40; 2013), yards per attempt (10.6; 2013) and 300-yard games (7, twice; 2013-14 [tied with Weinke and Danny Kanell])…led the nation with four fourth-quarter comebacks in 2014 and had five for his career, including the 2013 BCS National Championship when he engineered a seven-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with the game-winning touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left in the game…earned two letters on the Florida State baseball team, helping the Seminoles grab the No. 5 national seed as the closer in 2014 and the No. 7 national seed as a reliever, outfielder and designated hitter in 2013…finished his collegiate career on the diamond with a 1.94 ERA, nine saves and a 2-2 record over 60.1 innings and 41 appearances.

via Seminoles.com