Corey Clark: 10 years later, reflecting on a special spring game and our introduction to Jameis Winston
The 10-year anniversary is this Thursday.
Where does the time go? How can it already have been a decade since that magical afternoon in Doak Campbell Stadium?
The thing is, we had all heard about Jameis Winston. Obviously. He was a five-star recruit who redshirted in 2012 but was in a three-way battle for the starting quarterback spot with Jacob Coker and Clint Trickett.
In hindsight, it seems like a no-brainer he was going to win the job and that both of his competitors would end up transferring to other schools. But in the spring of 2013, I can promise you, it was a real battle.
We had a recurring bit on “Seminole Headlines” where Jeff, Ira and I each pretended to be one of the quarterbacks, arguing as to why we deserved the job. I was smart enough to pick Winston. I think we all understood that he was the most talented of the trio, but Coker had drawn rave reviews from Jimbo Fisher, and Clint Trickett had played in multiple games the previous two seasons. Including the second half against No. 1 Oklahoma and then at Clemson in 2011.
He was definitely the most experienced of the three.
And Coker was as big as Jameis and faster.
So, no, it wasn’t a slam dunk by any means.
Then came the Garnet & Gold game. And everything changed.
It was April 13, 2013, when Winston jogged onto Bobby Bowden Field for the first time in front of fans
Even for a spring game, there was a level of excitement, tension in the air. It was genuinely palpable. You could feel it. And hear it. Like a steady murmur that grew as he jogged out there after watching the first 15 minutes of the game.
And then came that first play.
Winston took the snap, and then launched a perfect pass down the right sideline to walk-on receiver David Tyrrell. He had gotten a step on an FSU cornerback, and his QB put the ball in absolutely perfect spot. Tyrrell did the rest, racing 58 yards for a touchdown. On Winston’s first ever play.
Oh, and the cornerback he beat?
Some kid named Lamarcus Joyner.
It was legitimately an unbelievable — but very telling — start to Jameis Winston’s Florida State career.
All he did that afternoon was complete 12 of 15 passes for 205 yards and two scores, including a beautiful back-shoulder throw to Rashad Greene later in the game.
“Coach Fisher always tells us before our meetings, ‘Before y’all go out there, imagine there’s someone out there that’s going to see you for one time,’” Winston said. “’What impressions are they going to have of you after the game?’”
Well, it was a pretty incredible first impression, that’s for sure.
It wasn’t the first one for his head coach, obviously, but if Jimbo still thought his QB race was a three-man battle heading into that afternoon, by about 4 p.m., I’m convinced he knew it was over.
He was never going to say that publicly, of course. That’s not his nature, No. 1. And No. 2, it wasn’t as if Winston was perfect all spring. He had made plenty of mistakes — like all quarterbacks do. And Jimbo knew he had a very, very good team coming back in 2013.
So, I think he was wrestling with the idea of handing the keys over to a wildly talented but also wildly aggressive quarterback, who had yet to play a college football game. When maybe a game-manager would be good enough to lead his group to a championship.
Then came Saturday, April 13, 2013.
And while he wouldn’t officially name Winston the starter for another four months, the brash and transcendent young talent ripped the keys out of Jimbo’s hand that afternoon.
“He took advantage of opportunities,” Fisher said that day. “That’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to make plays, and he’s done a nice job of making plays.”
Jimbo praised the rest of the quarterbacks, too, including fellow redshirt freshman Sean Maguire.
But come on, man.
We all had eyes. We saw it. There was no denying that the kid wearing No. 5 was just different. Not just better than the other guys, but his demeanor, his unflinching self-belief.
Trickett wound up completing 22 of 32 passes for 259 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Nobody cared. It was obvious how the QB battle was trending, and it wasn’t in his favor.
And Trickett saw the writing on the wall — spray-painted in big, block letters — so quickly that he essentially left for Morgantown, W.Va., the next afternoon.
Because he knew football. He was a junkie (and now a college coach). He knew what he had just witnessed wasn’t normal.
Most players feel pressure. Many buckle under the weight.
Jameis Winston laughed at it.
I mean think about that moment. It’s the first time this hotshot redshirt freshman has ever thrown a pass in front of FSU fans, and he decides to challenge the consensus All-America defensive back on his throw. Against a walk-on receiver. Because he believed, and it turned out to be true, that he was good enough to beat Lamarcus Joyner with his arm.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, Jameis is gonna show the world,’” Joyner said. “That was a great throw. You’ve got a guy out there at defensive back – which was myself – lollygagging around, and a good quarterback is going to take advantage of that.”
On that play, as it turned out, a great one did.
We had heard stories about Jameis before that.
Back then, we weren’t allowed to watch practice (thanks again for that, Mike!) so most of the stuff we heard that spring was second-hand. But you did hear about some special moments, including a goal-line drill in which Jimbo made Jameis “live,” meaning he could be tackled. And all the freshman QB did was truck a defender to get into the end zone. And then tell that defender all about it.
We knew there was a chance he could be special.
Then came the spring game. On that memorable afternoon in April 2013. And we knew.
Now, to be fair, none of us understood just how great he would be, so soon, and certainly none of us were prepared for the two-year whirlwind of media coverage (on and off the field) that followed him while he was in Tallahassee.
But as all of us were leaving the stadium that day, or turning off the broadcast, or just reading the stories and quotes that followed, there was an unmistakable feeling of, “OK, now THAT was different. He might just be a superstar.”
He was indeed.
Of course, when Winston left the stadium, he walked a few hundred feet to Dick Howser Stadium, where he was the designated hitter in the second game of a doubleheader against Duke. He went 1-for-2 in that game and reached base three times as the Seminoles won 8-3.
Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day for Winston.
It’s crazy to think it’s been 10 years since that performance. That simply doesn’t compute.
But here we are, in April 2023, and Florida State is blessed again with another Top 10 team and another Heisman candidate at quarterback.
Saturday’s spring game (or showcase, as they’re calling it) won’t have near the excitement or electricity of that one — I’m not sure another one ever will. But a decade after that team started its championship journey, I know we’re all ready to see if another Florida State team can get there again.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.
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