Jameis Winston stardom didn't start in the 2015 NFL draft, nor in college. It started well before: at Hueytown High School, where he won a state championship and left as the number one quarterback prospect in the nation, as a five-star recruit. And we can easily say why in the highlight video below, with a tip of the hat to SB Nation's Chris Fuhrmeister and Peter Berkes.
Those are some impressive throws for a high school athlete, and his mechanics actually look a little sharper there than they did in college -- perhaps a hint that re-tooling his mechanics won't be a massive problem. Mostly, though, you can see exactly why he was the number one pick in the draft just three seasons later: the ball placement, the big arm, the arc to his throws, the dropbacks -- he just looks like an NFL quarterback, even in high school.
That's not to say that he had the skillset to be one, at the time. But it's easy to see all the necessary fundamentals reflected in just a few minutes of highlight tape.
As a bonus, Hudl managed to dig up some high school highlights of fourth-round pick Kwon Alexander and sixth-round pick Kaelin Clay -- though for Clay, those may be junior college highlights instead. Somehow, the video description isn't at all clear about that.If the two videos below don't play, you can find Clay's highlights here and Alexander's here.