(UPDATED) It's presumptuous of me to put myself in the head of Jameis Winston, I know.
I'm not 20 years old. Though I love the game, I never played football, never had Winston's talent either for leading a national championship team on the field -- or blowing my chances off it.
But I like to think I know a little about life. And I believe the FSU quarterback, surviving one flawed performance after another this season, is entering what could be the most critical three-week period of his athletic life.
Let's just talk about football now -- or try to. The dark challenges on the back side of the Rose Bowl game -- the rape allegations, the student code violations -- are there like a shadow, he can't wish them away.
But for now, it's all about managing expectations and proving something to himself and the world, making good on the promise he's shown his family, his coaches, Florida State University and his fans.
If I'm Jameis Winston, I'm glad I didn't go to Saturday's Heisman ceremony. I didn't care who won, I've been there, done that. I got mine last year.
It's not that I think I wasn't good enough for a nomination on the field. I'm the QB of the only undefeated team in the playoffs, for crying out loud, of course I was good enough.
But I'd remember seeing the mission statement on the award's website, and what it said: The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.
I would know the word "integrity" left me out like an ax on a tree stump.
So, if I'm not nominated, why would I go to New York, subject myself to a fierce media attack on national television, only to sit at the ceremony with previous winners? Who needs the strain and negative emotion?
If I'm Jameis Winston I would know my first job, the most important job in my life right now, is to prepare mentally and physically to lead my team to victory in the Rose Bowl.
I would also recognize staying focused at home gives me the edge on Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, this year's Heisman winner, and my opposite in the Rose Bowl. Let Marcus carry the strain, get distracted by the big city, bright lights and parties, travel across the country and back.
I would know a lot of the country will be watching me Jan. 1 in the battle of Heisman Trophy winners, hoping to see me fail, hoping I will lose my first college game to "Marvelous Marcus."
More important, I would know what a lot of NFL scouts have been saying about me. They're calling me "a nightmare." They're saying I'm"so freaking inaccurate to start games, (I'm) off the mark more than (I'm) on. ..." They're saying we beat inferior opponents. (They never mention that we lost 25 to graduation, early departure and the NFL draft, yet we still had a championship season.)
But who would know better than I that flaws in my game have been far more apparent this year than last, when I passed for more than 4,000 yards with a 40:10 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
I would know I can't erase those 17 picks I threw this year, including 11 in my last six games. And the slow starts the scout was talking about? The Seminoles went into halftime with deficits against Miami, Louisville, Clemson, Notre Dame, and North Carolina State.
In the Rose Bowl, on national television New Year's Day, I'm going to be endlessly compared to Mariota, who threw for 38 touchdowns this year against two interceptions.
If I'm Jameis Winston, I'm going to know the Rose Bowl is everything.
The Rose Bowl is where I go for football redemption. It's where I show I can lead my team from the first whistle to the last, not just in the last quarter, where I can complete my passes as well as Marvelous Marcus, where I can win the big game not just against a lesser opponent but every time. It's where I show I'm draftable. It's where I show I'm not just as good as any college quarterback in America. I'm better.
If I'm Jameis Winston, I'm going to use these nearly three weeks, not to think about the Heisman and what wasn't, but to think about what I need to do -- do what I need to do -- to secure my future and repay the faith my family, my coach, my school and my team has in me. I'm going to know I'm a lucky man.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
