Jameis Winston: 5-Star QB Down to Florida State and Stanford, Who Wins?

With National Signing Day just a couple of days away, the players are beginning to fall.

Quarterback Jameis Winston is one of the players that will soon make his decision on where he'd like to play his college football. Originally committed to Florida State, it’s now down to the Seminoles and the Stanford Cardinal on where he’ll likely end up. Winston is a top quarterback prospect in this year’s class and will be a huge addition to whichever team he decides to pick.

Here’s a quick breakdown of both of teams he’s looking at and a prediction for where he’ll end up.

Stanford

Stanford was a school that Winston was looking at, but needed to gain admission into the school before actually really considering them. He's now eligible to play for one of the most prestigious universities in the country.

Winston would have a great opportunity to play in quality minutes right away with Andrew Luck entering the NFL draft. He'll also be in one of the best schools academically that the country can offer.

Probably the best advantage Stanford has is the baseball program. Winston is a two-way player and will like to play baseball as well.

With a solid recruiting class this season, Winston could step on campus and keep this team competitive in the watered-down Pac-12. He visited Stanford earlier this year and here's a few things he said about the Cardinal.

"Stanford is just the best school in the country for football and anything else," Winston said. "They're on the rise just like Florida State is, been in BCS bowl games for the past two years."

He continued: "And it's one of the best academic places in the country. It's ranked third in the nation for baseball. It's kind of the whole package."

Florida State

Winston would have the opportunity to start his sophomore year with quarterback EJ Manuel graduating next year. And with this team, extremely talented, great quarterback play could be the difference in making this program elite once again.

That has to be very enticing to a young player, possibly being part of a program on the rise.

It's also a lot closer to home than Stanford is, as he's from Alabama. He also feels very comfortable around the coaches and he made his early commitment to the school for a reason.

And despite how he feels about Stanford, he has said he's still favoring Florida State as of right now.

"I'm still strong to Florida State," he said. "Me and coach (Dameyune) Craig and coach (Jimbo) Fisher have a great relationship, and it would be fun to go down there with those guys. We have a great recruiting class ... but things may happen."

Prediction?

Stanford really has a lot to offer Winston, but I think he stays with Florida State. I believe the distance away from home may end up forcing him to stay with his original commitment.

"Since I'm far away, I've got to put that into perspective," Winston said. "My dad and mom, they want me to go anywhere I want to. But still, they say, 'Stanford's a long ways away, Jaboo.' Distance is not really a problem for me, but for my parents it is."

I'm not counting Stanford out, but if I had to pick, I'm going with Florida State because of the distance away from home. The Cardinal have a lot of advantages, like academics and the baseball situation, but being on the other side of the country is something you just can't make up for.

I think this race is a lot closer than it was before and it may even be 50/50, but I think the 5-star quarterback is going to stick to his original commitment.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]