Roy Exum: He Can Never Go Home

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner hit on 26-of-38 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns against the Wolfpack. Forget his two interceptions, the Seminoles were winners again and stayed atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll, which is apparently all that matters in Tallahassee. After all, FSU actually served luscious crab legs to recruits on the very night Winston was suspended, this after Jameis bolted with a well-publicized handful from a Publix in broad daylight this summer!

But wait … not so fast, my friend. Lars Anderson, a writer for the Birmingham News and AL.com, went to Hueytown last Saturday (the Crimson Tide was off) and quickly found those who live in Winston’s hometown are flatly disgusted by his paralyzing behavior since the days Jameis was known as a “happy, carefree and constantly beaming” team player at Hueytown High School.

To whit, the large banner proclaiming H.F. Gilmore-Melvin Stadium as “the home of ‘Famous Jameis’ the Heisman Winner” has been quietly taken down and the entire town is red-faced. "I am furious with Jameis," said Pam Miller, a 43-year-old mom as she watched her young son play soccer.

"I came here and saw him play in high school and he was a special talent,” she told Anderson, who has just penned a best-seller about the tornado that hit Tuscaloosa and its aftermath several years ago. “But in high school they allowed (Jameis) to do whatever he wanted. You could see then that there were problems. So no one here, sadly, is shocked by anything he's done,” Miller’s lips were tight.

Then she pointed directly at the problem. "His parents haven't held him accountable, his coaches haven't, and the police in Tallahassee haven't. I feel bad for him. I pray for him. Because so many people who are supposed to be leaders are failing Jameis."

Apparently the great Thomas Wolfe had it right: “you can never go home again.” Gary Jennings, who was watching his son, Bo, coach his grandson’s soccer team, also minced no words. "Jameis doesn't have any respect for women and it's like he constantly needs attention," the 59-year-old told the writer with disgust. "He's embarrassed Hueytown. If I were his father, I would have had a serious, serious talk with him a long time ago. I'll still root for him, but I fear for him."

For the record, Gary Jennings is an “expert.” Bo – his son, the soccer coach – played two years in the NFL with Cincinnati. “Yes, he's an embarrassment … agreed Miller from nearby, “but the bigger issue is that this young man is ripping apart his future with his own hands. It's like a runaway train. You know it's going to wreck, but all you can do is watch. It's terrible and it's tragic."

Not long ago Tony Dungy, who is likely headed to the Pro Hall of Fame for his expertise as a coach, said on The Dan Patrick show that he wouldn’t draft the Florida State quarterback. “As of now, I wouldn't. I'd have to do a lot of research and go in and talk to him. But you don't want the face of your franchise, the guy you're going to take with a top-five pick, to have those off-the-field issues. You just don't. Where you'd have to draft him, no, I'd be very, very hesitant at this point."

And how about Winston’s close friend, Ameer Abdullah. A native of Birmingham who has known Jamies since he was eight years old, Ameer is himself a Heisman candidate at Nebraska this fall. Last week he rushed for 208 yards in the 45-14 win over Nebraska – his third 200-yards plus game this year -- and Abdullah mourns what his workout buddy has done to self-destruct. "It's kind of hard for me to understand what's going on with him right now.

“I think from a general standpoint it's the maturity level," Abdullah told Nebraska reporters. "Think before you act. Understand the bigger picture. Everything that you do, say or how you present yourself can have dire consequences. That's something I feel like he definitely needs to assess more."

Ameer questioned Winston’s common sense. "He's a very intelligent young man," Abdullah said of his friend, “but he's made his fair share of mistakes. It gets to the point where you feel like he needs to start understanding and take things more seriously because these things can alter what happens in his future."

“In everything you do,” the Nebraska star reflected his coaching, “you represent not only yourself, the university, your family, people who go to the university. So being that guy who's the star down there, he holds much bigger weight than he realizes sometimes ... I know he's much better than what he's shown."

Understandably, the folks who live in Hueytown are beginning to wonder.