Defining Jameis Winston's College Football Legacy

Defining Jameis Winston the college football player is simple. It's the rest of it that gets difficult.  

Winston officially departed for the NFL on Wednesday, a decision that, even with an 11th-hour report indicating otherwise, was long-anticipated. In the end, it was the right call for him. He's ready to take on the challenges of being an NFL quarterback. 

He leaves behind a complicated legacy in Tallahassee, one in which he has been both vilified by fans and national media and deified by those who follow Florida State. Depending on whom you ask, Winston was an undeniable talent as much as he was immature. He was loved and hated. Either he's innocent of the sexual battery allegations levied against him two years ago, or he was indeed involved and responsible. He became the face of college football and of a program labeled for being out of control.  

Tom D'Angelo of The Palm Beach Post summed up Winston's time in college better than anyone else could:  

That's a lot to pin on one person. Looking at Winston on and off the field, separately, may be the only way to more clearly measure his impact on Florida State. 

On the Field 

As a player, Winston was a unique talent. A 5-star high school prospect according to 247Sports' composite rankings, Winston had it all: size, smarts, athleticism and intangibles. From his first game against Pitt on Sept. 2, 2013, college football fans knew exactly what they were getting with Winston. He made difficult throws look easy and displayed a confidence rare for someone his age with his responsibilities. 

Against the Panthers, the then-redshirt freshman completed his first 11 passes and ended the night 25-of-27 for 356 yards and five total touchdowns in a 41-13 win. 

"He was transcendent in that [head coach Jimbo Fisher's] offense never looked like that before and probably won't look like that again," said Ira Schoffel, managing editor of Warchant.com.

That night was just the beginning. Winston was part of one of the great runs in college football over the past few years. A two-year starter, he helped win 27 straight games—minus one start against Clemson in September—including the program's third national championship. He became the school's third Heisman Trophy winner in 2013. 

Winston was well-liked by his coaches and teammates. He was passionate and could take hard coaching from Fisher, who was caught on more than one occasion laying into Winston on the sideline. 

While some may interpret sideline arguments between Fisher and Winston as a red flag, Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat paints a different picture:  

"

But here's what I know: His teammates, both on the baseball diamond and the football field, really liked him. And more importantly, they respected him. Not only because he won – a lot – but because of how hard he worked.

Here's what else I know: His coaches, both on the record and off, talked non-stop about what a joy he was to work with. Not just because he was really good, but because he cared so much. About getting better. About being a good teammate. About winning.

"

"He came into that team last year that was so good but needed that confidence boost," Schoffel said. "This [2014] team wasn't nearly as good, but he made them believe they were better than they were. He had the intangibles."

The burden of shouldering more responsibility for the success of the offense was evident. Winston threw 18 interceptions this season, some of which came about because he had too much confidence in himself. But not all turnovers are created equally. Breaking in freshman receivers like Travis Rudolph and Ermon Lane comes at a price sometimes; miscommunications, wrong routes and the like led to turnovers that weren't always Winston's fault. 

The turnover issues haven't prevented Winston from staying atop draft boards, however. B/R's draft guru, Matt Miller, recently made Winston the No. 1 player on his big board. He's not alone. ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay has Winston as the best player in the 2015 draft pool. Furthermore, Winston doesn't get enough credit for his football I.Q., as Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly opined on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on ESPN: 

"Fans will appreciate him more once they see other quarterbacks," Schoffel said. "He made great look average."

Off the Field 

Here's the thing about defining Winston as a person: It's dangerous ground. There are a lot of opinions about Winston, but few people expressing them actually know him. All that any of us have are our perceptions—and we tend to see what we want to see, hear what we want to hear, believe what we want to believe. 

There are off-the-field issues, though. That's undeniable. They range from the serious—a rape allegation—to the juvenile—crab leg theft, stealing soda from a Burger King, BB gun fights and shouting an obscene Internet meme in public.  

Winston's headline-grabbing nature eventually wore thin on even the most adamant defenders. 

"With him, it was cumulative," Schoffel said. "The yelling of the meme in the union, for example. There were a lot of people around FSU's program who were tired of defending him. Boosters wanted him off the team."

Jeff Gammons/Getty Images

Of all the incidents, though, Winston was cleared multiple times of the only one that ever truly mattered—the rape allegation—for a lack of evidence.

Still, some people think Winston raped his accuser just more than two years ago and question how the case was handled by FSU and the Tallahassee Police Department. Others are convinced he's innocent, citing inconsistencies in the alleged victim's account of the situation and toxicology reports. And others still don't know what to think after all this time. 

The reality is no one will likely ever know what happened other than those directly involved. What we do know is that lives have been changed forever, and not for the better. Rape accusations are powerful enough to stay with Winston for a long time. His accuser claims she has received death threats and unimaginable shaming. 

In time, Schoffel believes both parties will be able to move forward with their lives. Right now, everything is still raw. "There were so many steps," Schoffel said, "the initial investigation, the accuser's attorney saying it wasn't done, the federal suit—Winston's name is attached to all of that even if he's not a party to it."  

In time, Winston's legacy at Florida State will change as viewpoints change. If he succeeds in the NFL, Florida State will remember fondly that his stardom began in Tallahassee. If he flames out or gets into more trouble, all of the supposed red flags will be raised higher with the help of hindsight.   

"Unless he gets into trouble, history will be kinder and kinder to him," Schoffel said. 

For now, reflecting on Winston's time at Florida State requires more than a one-dimensional approach. Perhaps viewing Winston on and off the field separately is best. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.