Winston helps reward FSU equipment manager

TALLAHASSEE All Florida State student equipment manager Casey Jackson wanted to do was meet Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston.

Not only did Jackson get to meet his idol in Winston, he also experienced one of the coolest moments of his life.

Winston, the former FSU quarterback who led the Seminoles to the 2013 national championship, presented Jackson with a scholarship from FSU Wednesday in a moment that was captured on video and shared on social media this week.

“It was an awesome thing that happened to me,” said Jackson, a sports management major and Merritt Island native, on Thursday.

In the video, Winston introduces himself to Jackson, two days after their initial encounter during which Winston noticed Jackson watching him practice in FSU’s indoor practice facility Monday.

Jackson, who has been assisting FSU’s tight ends since after the Alabama opener last season, patiently waited for the day the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback would return to campus just to meet him.

“I was one of the only ones there watching, and afterwards, I introduced myself,” Jackson said of his first meeting with Winston Monday. “He was like, ‘Oh, you work with equipment? We’re teammates now basically. Thanks for what you do for the team.’

“That was it. I went home. I was like, ‘That was cool.’ I just met him and got a photo with him and it was a great experience. Little did I know what would come two days later.”

After FSU’s spring practice on Wednesday, Jackson went home to his campus residence with no intention of returning to the FSU football complex. After all, he already had his moment with Winston he would cherish forever.

Then his boss, assistant football manager Kevin Haynes, called him back into work.

“They had it all set up for me,” Jackson said of Haynes and head football equipment manager Darin Kerns.

Jackson took the 10-minute walk back to the FSU indoor practice facility and sat on the sidelines with his fellow student managers before Winston came over to talk to them after his workout.

“What’s your name? Did I see you [Monday]?” Winston asked Jackson.

“I heard you’ve been doing a great job around here. I’ve got something for you. Check that out,” Winston said handing Jackson a piece of paper.

“No way,” Jackson said with a smile before shaking hands and an embrace with Winston after receiving the scholarship.

“I had no clue they planned this for me. Then boom. I looked at the paper, and I was just in shock,” Jackson said. “I was like, ‘No way!’ I said, ‘No way’ a few times.”

Winston even signed the scholarship form he presented to Jackson, with 2013 national champs and 2013 Heisman. Jackson also got a signed FSU Winston jersey.

Jackson, who is studying sports management, enrolled at FSU after growing up a Seminoles fan. His father, Scott, attended Florida State, while his mother, Jodi, went to the University of Miami, and brother, Kyle, is a Hurricanes fan.

Jackson said the scholarship for the fall semester will allow his family to hang onto money set aside for his education after the passing of his uncle and grandparents.

“This scholarship is really going to help us, and it’s going to help me with my housing, and school, and food,” Jackson said. “That’s the ultimate goal. When you get here as a volunteer, it takes you about a semester, or two semesters in my case, to earn the scholarship. It’s a lot of hard work, and early mornings. It’s a great opportunity and awesome part of having this job.”