Photo by The Associated Press.
Jameis Winston, the Florida State freshman quarterback who was cleared of sexual misconduct last week, was named the Walter Camp player of the year on Thursday, which likely is a prelude to him winning college football’s highest honor, the Heisman Trophy.
Winston credited his team not only for his performance on the field, but also for supporting him as he faced felony charges during an investigation into whether he sexually assaulted a woman a year ago Saturday. State attorney Willie Meggs found there was not enough evidence to charge Winston.
“I know I did nothing wrong,” Winston said from the 23rd Home Depot College Football Awards in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“People just got to realize that my family, and the coaches, and coach (Jimbo) Fisher, they just supported me through this whole process, and I just feel so loved by that — you just don’t understand just how much that means to me,” he said.
The redshirt freshman is the second player from Florida State to win the Walter Camp award, joining quarterback Charlie Ward in 1993. Former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o won the Walter Camp last year.
The other finalists were Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch, Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron and Boston College running back Andre Williams.
McCarron beat out Manziel and Winston for the Maxwell Award as the nation’s most outstanding player.
Winston, meanwhile, also won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback, beating out Manziel and McCarron again. Six of the last seven winners of the Davey O’Brien have gone on to win the Heisman Trophy.
Winston has set FBS freshman records for yards passing (3,820) and touchdown passes (38), leading No. 1 Florida State (13-0) into the VIZIO BCS National Championship against No. 2 Auburn. His 190.6 passer efficiency rating is tops in the country and is on pace to set an NCAA record.
“When you have a team like that, anyone can go out there and do that,” Winston said of the star-studded Seminoles.
