A year after witnessing Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel embrace offseason celebrity as the first freshman Heisman Trophy winner, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winson will instead use a second sport to curtail his own notoriety.
Winston, who led a 34-31 comeback win over Auburn in the BCS championship game Monday night, said he will renew his Seminoles baseball career this spring as a means of limiting distractions.
"It keeps me busy instead of dealing with all the outside stuff and dealing with everything coming my way," Winston said, according to espn.com. "I keep playing sports and I've got to keep my grades up, so I won't be focused on any outside things."
FSU coach Jimbo Fisher recruited Winston with the understanding that he would be a two-sport athlete in college. Winston struggled at the plate as a true freshman for the Seminoles last season, batting .235 in 119 at bats, but was outstanding as a relief pitcher with a 3.00 ERA in 27 innings, allowing opponents just one home run and a .176 batting average.
So while Manziel's offseason included a goof-around first pitch as a guest of the San Diego Padres, Winston will actually be throwing real pitches in real games.
Suffice it to say, it's a new offseason.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
