College Football Recruiting: Jameis Winston Has Strong Start to Junior Year

Hueytown’s Jameis Winston may only be a junior in high school, but the 6‘3", 190 lb. quarterback has already opened the eyes of college scouts nationwide. The Alabama native is one of the elite dual threat quarterbacks in the 2012 high school football class, and has already received offers from the likes of Auburn, Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, and Miami.

Winston took the field for the first time in Hueytown’s opening game of the season last Thursday night as the Golden Gophers took down Pelham 36-21 in front of their home crowd. The junior quarterback completed 19 passes out of 33 attempts for 182 yards and one touchdown. He did his real work on the ground though, running 17 times for 154 yards and three touchdowns.

With the performance, Winston continued showing everyone that he is truly a balanced player. During his sophomore season, Winston threw the ball 122 times and completed 57 passes for 749 yards while rushing 87 times for 560 yards.

He’s still a little rough around the edges as a passer, but Winston is an elite athlete whose running ability separates him from average high school quarterbacks. He displays the same type of skill-set of some of the recent top dual threat quarterbacks who have come out in the last few years.

There is something, however, that could complicate things for the rising star QB.

He just so happens to be one of the top baseball prospects in the nation. As a sophomore, Winston hit .424 at the the plate and finished the year with an 8-3 record and a 1.92 ERA as a pitcher.

A few baseball scouts made their way down to Hueytown last year to check out what Winston had to offer. They reportedly liked what they saw. It’s possible Jameis could be an early round MLB draft choice when he becomes eligible, and with that comes some financial considerations that could sway his decision.

Jameis has already stated he wants to play both football and baseball in college, which could narrow down his options. We’ll have to see how much his commitment to baseball affects his football future.

For now, Winston is simply hoping to lead his Hueytown team to an improved season this year after their disappointing 5-5 effort in 2009. He still has a long way to go before he can sign his services to a collegiate football team, but there’s no doubt that Winston’s story should be one of the most interesting ones to watch unfold over the next few years.

Jameis has promising potential and should be one of the hottest names of next year’s recruiting class. He’ll likely be the standout player of a highly talented Alabama 2012 high school class.