Jameis Winston: 4 Schools Still in the Hunt for the 5-Star Quarterback

One of the nation’s top quarterbacks, Jameis “Jaboo” Winston has had a long-time commitment to Florida State, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t making sure he made the right decision.

He has already taken an official visit to Alabama, will go to Stanford this weekend, Florida State near the end of the month and Ohio State somewhere in-between, according to Scout.com.

Here’s a breakdown of those teams and a prediction as to where he’ll end up.

Alabama

If Winston wasn’t born and raised in Hueytown, Alabama, chances are he wouldn’t even be considering the Tide. They haven’t used a mobile quarterback in a long time, and his athletic ability is his greatest asset.

With AJ McCarron putting on a dazzling performance in the national championship, and with former four-star recruit Phillip Sims waiting in the wings, it is unlikely that Winston would see any playing time.

For a guy who is going to play football and baseball, getting on the field as much as possible seems like a high priority. I’d be shocked if he ended up playing in crimson.

Stanford

I was incredibly surprised to see that Winston would be heading all the way out to Stanford for a visit. Stanford runs a quintessential pro-style offense, and while the team could certainly benefit from having a guy as talented as Winston under center, I just don’t see it.

Stanford has the academics and a baseball team consistently among the best in the country, but he seems far more interested in playing football and baseball. Playing two sports while trying to earn a Stanford degree would be insanely difficult.

If David Shaw can sell him on that, he would get my vote as the greatest recruiter in the country.

Ohio State

If Winston is going to go somewhere other than Florida State, the best bet would be Ohio State. He wasn’t considering the Buckeyes until Urban Meyer took over the offense. "I have talked to Coach Meyer a few times, and we are cool," he said. "He keeps telling me I am his kind of quarterback, and he can't wait to get me on campus so we can talk football.”

If there is one quarterback in the 2012 class that Meyer wants, it’s Winston. He has every physical attribute to shine in his spread offense as well as great leadership on and off the field.

The only issue is that he would have to sit behind Braxton Miller for a year or two, and the baseball situation hasn’t been worked out yet.

Florida State

Everything fits with Florida State. Winston would almost certainly play right out of the gate with only Clint Trickett to beat at quarterback, and the Seminoles have one of the best baseball teams in the country.

When interviewed by Scouts.com, the first thing he said was that he is “a firm commitment to Florida State.” Looking at everything the school has to offer him, it’s obvious why he chose FSU so early in the recruiting process.

With his official visit coming next week, expect Jimbo Fisher and company to quash any other teams trying to steal their quarterback of the future.