Jameis Winston: Who is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback selected No 1 in the NFL draft?

Talented quarterback has off-field issues

If the 2015 NFL Draft was based on talent alone, then Florida State Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston was the obvious choice to be selected first.

In just two years at NCAA level, the 21-year-old displayed all the characteristics wanted by NFL coaches.

In his first season he blew all opponents away, recording 13 wins out of 13 in the regular season before leading the Seminoles to the BCS National Championship. He threw 40 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions, completed 67 per cent of his passes and ran in four touchdowns of his own.

He was an easy choice to be named winner of the Heisman trophy for most outstanding college player in 2013.

WInston lost just one game at FSU out of 27 (Getty Images)

His sophmore season wasn't quite as productive (25 touchdowns, 18 interceptions) but Florida State again went undefeated in the regular season and he led the team to the Rose Bowl (semi-final to the Championship game), where they lost to Oregon.

It was the only defeat of his 27-game college career and in his two years he showed great instincts for the game, a knack for understanding the right call in a given situation, a cannon of an arm, brilliant accuracy and good speed and strength.

Winston is the perfect prototype for an NFL quarterback.

However, in the months leading up to the draft there were many rumours that the Buccaneers may pick somebody else, or trade out of the No 1 spot - Winston is not seen as a sure thing because of several worrying off-field issues.

The quarterback won the Heisman Trophy in 2013 (Getty Images)

In 2013 Winston was accused of raping a student in Tallahassee, Florida. He was eventually cleared of all charges, but the prosecution argued that both the university and police investigation showed a number of shortcomings, including never obtaining a DNA sample from Winston, interviewing him or attempting to obtain video of the incident filmed by Winston's team-mate Chris Casher.

The New York Times pursued a lengthy investigation of their own on the case, highlighting huge flaws in the investigation.

Winston was also previously handcuffed for bringing a BB gun into school, released when officers realised it was not real (no charges were filed).

He has also been involved in two incidents of shoplifting. The first came at a Burger King when police were called after an employee claimed he stole a drink from the fizzy drink dispenser, but he was not interviewed by police after the fast food outlet declined to prosecute.

Winston has been involved in several off-field incidents - including being accused of sexual assault (Getty Images)

In April last year he was issued an adult civil citation for shoplifting crabs legs from a Publix supermarket in Tallahassee. Winston was ordered to do 20 hours of community service - he celebrated being drafted by being pictured with a plate of crab in his new Buccaneers shirt.

He was then suspended for a game by the University in September after he stood on top of a table at the FSU student union and yelled 'f*** her right in the p*****', a popular internet meme.

But his off-field problems were not enough for the Bucs to give up on Winston, who will likely give the quarterback a contract worth around $20million.