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Yes, Jameis Winston won the Heisman Trophy as the Florida State University quarterback took home the award in 2013. At that time, he became the youngest winner of the prestigious award, earmarking him as one to watch whenever he decided to declare for the NFL draft.
Winston won the ballot by a landslide, earning 2,205 points. In second place was Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron with 704 points. Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch was third with 558.
Here, we will revisit the 2013 finalists and show you how they performed professionally.
Revisiting the 2013 Heisman finalists
Here are the three finalists of the prestigious Heisman Trophy.
3, Jordan Lynch, QB, Northern Illinois, 558 points
Jordan Lynch is the greatest quarterback in Northern Illinois University history, and it isn't even close.
The dual-threat quarterback was quite the pro prospect at the collegiate level, showcasing a mature skillset for his young years. Lynch closed his college career with a slew of records, including the most 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback in a season (12) and the second-most rushing yards by a quarterback in a season (1,920).
However, those stats needed more to get him selected in the 2014 draft. NFL scouts didn't consider him good enough to play as a QB in the super-competitive NFL, so he went undrafted. However, the Chicago Bears signed him as an undrafted free agent to play running back. He was subsequently released on Aug. 29, 2014.
After being released by the Bears, he played in the Canadian Football League for two years before retiring in 2017. He's currently the head coach of Mount Carmel High School.
2, AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama, 704 points
AJ McCarron was that guy back in the day, and he has the awards to prove it. The Crimson Tide quarterback snagged two awards in 2013, the Maxwell Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and he fell just short of the Heisman Trophy. He also won two national championships at the school.
The Cincinnati Bengals selected McCarron as the 164th pick in the 2014 draft. In his rookie season, he played in just over a handful of games, but it was downhill from there.
The Alabama Crimson Tide alum played for two other teams in a six-year career: the Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans. He put up a career stat line of 174 pass attempts, 1,173 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions in 16 games.
1, Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State University, 2,205 points
Jameis Winston was the best college player in America in 2013, and it wasn't even close. And the Heisman Trophy voters also agreed. Winston was in his bag that season, tearing the competition apart on his way to winning three major awards: the Walter Camp Award, the Davey O'Brien Award and, most impressively, the Heisman Trophy.
Winston was drafted first in 2015 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as they saw him as their quarterback of the present and future. Winston had considerable success with the Bucs, but he became a free agent in March 2020, and the team eventually landed Tom Brady, who led them to the Super Bowl.
Winston plays for the New Orleans Saints, even though injuries have dampened his career. He's played just 14 games in three seasons in New Orleans.
