Jameis Winston dropped back on his first play of the afternoon, and saw his four receivers running vertical routes.
He quickly read that walk-on David Tyrell had separated himself from cornerback Lamarcus Joyner, and Winston lofted a perfectly thrown ball that hit Tyrell in stride as he streaked down the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown.
It was the start of an impressive afternoon for the Florida State red-shirt freshman as the nation’s top-rated quarterback recruit of the 2012 class completed 12 of 15 passes for 205 yards and touchdowns on his first two possessions. He also scrambled a handful of times, including a 12-yarder down to the goal line that set up a Chad Abram 1-yard run.
“The offensive line and my wide receivers they came in and said ‘Let’s go Jameis,’ ” Winston said. “I got in my happy place and I just said, ‘Let’s do it guys.’ And we did it.”
And after doing a two-minute interview with reporters, Winston was out the door to his other job — walking less than 50 yards over to the baseball field to join his other teammates for Saturday’s doubleheader with Duke. He is a pitcher/outfielder for the Seminoles.
But Winston made his mark in football this spring, too. As FSU’s spring came to a close, Winston easily had the most consistent performance in leading the Garnet team on three touchdown drives — although the Gold team won 40-24.
Junior Clint Trickett threw for 259 yards but did so on far more plays, completing 22 of 32 passes — with an interception — while playing for both the Garnet and the Gold squads.
“Not good, not bad,” Trickett said. “Inconsistent. Maybe trying to make too much out of nothing instead of the little stuff that’s there.”
Jacob Coker completed 15 of 26 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown, also seeing time on both the Garnet and Gold teams. Sean Maguire went 6 for 13 for 113 yards and a touchdown.
FSU coach Jimbo Fisher goes into the summer without declaring a winner in the quarterback competition. It’s clear that the battle will go well into August as the Seminoles prepare for the Labor Day opener at Pittsburgh.
“All of them made nice throws,” Fisher said. “Very pleased with the progress.”
With top rushers James Wilder, Devonta Freeman and Mario Pender out with injuries, FSU quarterbacks aired it out 91 times for 773 yards and five touchdowns.
Kenny Shaw caught 12 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, and former Glades Central star Kelvin Benjamin had eight receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown for the Gold.
“He made some nice plays,” Fisher said of Benjamin. “Consistently running routes and being dependable.”
Rashad Greene led the Garnet with 11 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown.
Redshirt freshman Roberto Aguayo, who is replacing FSU and ACC all-time scoring leader Dustin Hopkins, kicked five field goals – including a 58-yarder that cleared the uprights with plenty of room to spare to close the game.
FSU’s defense had its moments, especially for the Gold. Defensive tackle Nile Lawrence-Stample had 3.5 sacks, and Karlos Williams, Lamarcus Brutus and P.J. Williams all had interceptions.
Williams, who had eight tackles said the defense has embraced the style of new coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, adding that fans on Saturday saw just a glimpse of the schemes that he is installing.
“Keep it cranking, keep installing, keep learning, keep playing hard and keep progressing,” Williams said. “We want to be that No. 1 defense in the country.”
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