New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - After being announced as the 79th Heisman Trophy winner, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston walked up to the podium and flashed his signature smile.
The freshman phenom hopes to be smiling even wider in a few weeks.
Winston won the Heisman Trophy in a landslide on Saturday night, becoming the youngest player to capture college football's most prestigious individual honor.
"It feels great to be part of the (Heisman) family. I just thank everyone with the Heisman Trust that allowed me to be in it. It feels great. I cannot explain the feeling that I have inside right now," Winston said.
The gregarious 19-year-and-342-day-old Winston is the second straight freshman to win the award after Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first to do so last season.
Winston has thrown for 3,820 yards and 38 touchdowns, both FBS freshman records. He helped unbeaten Florida State (13-0) climb to No. 1 in the BCS standings for the first time in 14 years. The Seminoles will play No. 2 Auburn for the national title on Jan. 6.
After Winston was not charged in a sexual assault case stemming from events in December 2012, many of the voters weren't afraid to stay away.
Winston's margin of victory was the fifth largest in the modern era -- last 50 years. He earned 668 first-place votes and 2,205 points, 1,501 more than Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, who finished second with 704 points.
Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynch was third with 558 points, Boston College running back Andre Williams came in fourth with 470 points, Manziel was fifth with 421 points and Auburn running back Tre Mason finished sixth with 404 points.
Some of the voters, though, did seem to shy away as Winston was left off of 115 ballots entirely.
"My innocence was proven. So this last month has made me, it's probably that humbling moment that you have in your life," Winston said.
Quarterbacks Charlie Ward in 1993 and Chris Weinke in 2000 are the only other FSU players to win the Heisman. Weinke coincidentally was the oldest Heisman winner.
"This Heisman isn't just for Jameis Winston, it's for Florida State," Winston said
McCarron, who won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, has been a part of three national championship teams and owns a career record of 36-3 for Alabama. A steady leader, he passed for 2,676 yards and 26 touchdowns as a senior.
Lynch's Huskies were undefeated before losing the MAC Championship against Bowling Green, and the senior's performance was seen as a less-than-ideal final chapter to a Heisman campaign despite 219 yards passing with a touchdown and 126 yards rushing with two more scores.
Lynch rushed for 1,881 yards, breaking his own FBS quarterback record, and passed for 2,676 while accounting for 45 total touchdowns.
Williams has five 200-yard rushing games and leads the nation with 2,102 yards on 329 carries. He left the team's final regular-season game with an injury after gaining just 29 yards, but is expected to be OK for the AdvoCare V100 Bowl against Arizona on New Year's Eve. Doug Flutie was Boston College's only Heisman winner in 1984.
After a star-making season in which Manziel set the SEC record for total offense in 2012, he has thrown for 3,537 yards, run for 654 and has totaled 41 touchdowns this season.
Former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin remains the only player ever to win two Heismans, doing it in back-to-back seasons in 1974-75.
Mason, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, was probably a longshot candidate before his performance in the SEC title game. The junior running back rushed for 304 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers routed Missouri to lock up their BCS Championship Game berth.
Mason has run for 1,621 yards and 22 touchdowns for Auburn (12-1), including 164 yards and a score in the team's Iron Bowl win over Alabama. Three Auburn players have won the Heisman, including Bo Jackson in 1985 and Cam Newton in 2010.
The six players invited to New York tied a Heisman record.
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