Every week of the college football season, ESPN releases a list of their top five Heisman candidates, and for nearly every week dating back to last year, FSU quarterback Jameis Winston has been on that list.
But, as Bob Dylan once said, "the times they are a changing." Winston is notably absent from this week's list after missing the entire game against Clemson due to a suspension. Oregon's Marcus Mariota tops the list this week. He is followed by Georgia's Todd Gurley, Alabama's Amari Cooper, Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah and Texas A&M's Kenny Hill.
Winston's suspension is yet another incident in a growing list of off-the-field issues for the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. In 2013, Winston was investigated for sexual assault, yet no charges were ultimately filed. In April, he was suspended from the baseball team for three games, and ordered to serve 20 hours of community service after being cited for stealing $32 worth of crab legs from a local grocery store. There have been other minor legal incidents as well, but no arrests.
ESPN's draft expert, Mel Kiper, dropped the quarterback down to No. 25 on his top prospects list.
"At a time when NFL teams are going to be more sensitive than they ever have been about the off-field actions of their players -- and rightfully so -- Winston has reached a point with these issues where my sense is that a number of teams would have pulled him off the board if the draft were held tomorrow," Kiper wrote. "It's that simple."
NFL franchises, amid all of the recent public scrutiny regarding domestic violence, are starting to monitor an athlete's off-field decision-making more carefully. However, Kiper does believe that Winston can change the public's perception of him.
"Winston has time to regain trust. Exactly zero people will be surprised when he goes in the first round when he gets drafted in 2015 or 2016," Kiper wrote. "He has many good traits, particularly as an on-field leader who brings out great things in his teammates. And we know he's a phenomenal football talent at the game's most important position. But this is a reflection of what I consider a deep concern about his maturity, and I think maturity is becoming an increasingly big priority. I'd bet he'll get there. But he simply isn't yet."
