Winston Earns Heisman in a Runaway

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Jameis Winston set Football Bowl Subdivision freshman records for touchdown passes, with 38, and passing yards, with 3,820.

Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston spent the past week on college football's postseason awards circuit, cycling through banquets and red carpets and trophy presentations. That culminated Saturday in Manhattan, where Winston won the Heisman Trophy, his sport's pre-eminent honor.

Wherever Winston traveled, an accusation of rape clouded the celebration. Florida officials said this month that Winston would not be charged in the year-old case. But as the Seminoles wrapped up an undefeated season and their spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game, scrutiny of the investigation only intensified.

Last December, a college student accused Winston of rape after a party. The accuser's lawyer came forward a year later to say that the Tallahassee Police Department had pushed her not to press charges, and the lawyer held a news conference Friday to skewer the investigation. Winston's lawyer has said that Winston and the accuser engaged in consensual sex.

Winston wrapped his arms around the Heisman Trophy late Saturday, after an hourlong television special in which the only suspense centered on how much he would win by. The assembled cheered loudly, and Winston hugged his parents and thanked God.

At his news conference, Winston said that he had expected to win but that doubt had remained until he heard his name called. Someone asked about the vindication he had spoken of earlier in the week.

"I really don't want to talk about that right now," Winston said, "because this is a moment I'll cherish for the rest of my life."

All the off-field scrutiny appeared to have had a minimal impact on the actual vote, although 13 percent of the 928 voters left Winston off their ballots. He received 668 first-place votes and secured 2,205 points, 1,501 more than A J McCarron, the Alabama quarterback who came in second. It was the seventh-largest victory margin in Heisman history.

The accusation played a minor role in Saturday's proceedings and a larger one in the lead-up to them. On Friday, Winston settled in front of a bank of television cameras at a pre-Heisman news conference. His lawyer stood behind him, as did university officials. While Winston smiled and answered questions, they watched, with arms folded. While Winston sidestepped questions about the investigation like wayward defenders, the officials scolded reporters for broaching the subject.

It made for an awkward dance. At one point, after three questions related to the accusations, Kerwin Lonzo, a Florida State sports information official, told reporters that Winston would answer only questions about football and the Heisman. A reporter asked whether character should be considered in the selection of the winner, and Lonzo snapped: "Next question. Only football."

While the five other finalists switched tables during the interview session, Florida State officials whisked Winston down the nearest hallway. He eventually returned. They chalked up the missed time to confusion.

At the second table, someone asked Winston if he wanted to tell his side of the story. It was among the first direct questions he had taken since the accusation surfaced.

"I knew I did nothing wrong," he said. "That's why I knew that I could respect the process and I'd eventually be vindicated. It was more about me being silent for my family, because I didn't want to put my family in those situations."

So it went for Winston, who set freshman records this season in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football, for touchdown passes (38) and passing yards (3,820). Florida State won each of its 13 games by double-digit margins. The Seminoles will play Auburn on Jan. 6 in Pasadena, Calif., for the national championship.

That was no longer the sole focus this season. Winston and Florida State tried to move on after Dec. 5, when a Florida state attorney, William N. Meggs, held a news conference to say Winston would not be charged. Meggs said the accuser had given inconsistent statements. He said he did not have enough evidence to go to trial.

Bill Pennington contributed reporting.

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