Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston made a short appearance on 95.3 WDAE’s radio show, The Pat and Aaron Show, on Friday on Radio Row in Atlanta prior to the Super Bowl.

Winston began the segment with praises when asked about his former head coach, Dirk Koetter, emphasizing that Koetter was a great coach but conceding that it’s a wins and losses league and that often falls on the head coach and quarterback.

When moving on to talk about his new head coach, Bruce Arians, it was hard for Winston to contain his excitement.

“Man, I was very elated,” Winston said. “Honestly, that was my first choice. If I had talked to anybody in the building I would have said, ‘Yo, B.A. is on the market.’ Just because of my background with him, the swagger that he brings as a professional coach, the resume that he has working with all of these quarterbacks. This guy is known as the quarterback guru, but at the end of the day it’s about wins and losses and I think he’s done that in his tenure as an NFL coach.”

Photo by: PewterReport.com

As is usually the case when talking with Winston, he rarely lacks confidence. Touted as “being a winner” throughout his career at Florida State with a 26-1 record as a starter and with a 9-7 record in his second year with the Bucs, Winston’s answer was simple, but resounding when asked about what he needs to improve going into the 2019 season.

“Wins. That’s all,” Winston said. “Statistically, talent level, I’m the best. I’m one of the best. But wins? I think that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about stats, it’s not about how many touchdowns or how many yards you have, or your completion percentage, it’s about giving your team a chance to win and posting up W’s at the end of the day.”

He’s not alone on that side of the ball, though. He continued by talking about his deeply talented receiving corps.

“Those guys are willing to do whatever with me, whether that’s after the practice or during the offseason,” Winston said. “They’re relentless workers and I give a lot of the credit to our success on the field to the things we do off the field. The preparation and the studying that we have together, because that really builds the chemistry and builds the trust that you have with your teammates.”

Bucs QB Jameis Winston and WRs Adam Humphries and Mike Evans – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s well-known that in Winston’s heart, right next to his passion for football, is a passion for working with kids. That passion has culminated into Jameis Winston’s Dream Forever Foundation, a foundation created to “impact the lives of financially disadvantaged children and youth through encouragement, opportunities and resources to develop and achieve their dreams.”

A major creation from the foundation was a “Dream Room” at Alexander Elementary School in Tampa. Winston talked a little about his foundation before closing the segment.

“First of all, I just want to say that’s the best platform that we have as an NFL player,” Winston said. “We get to reach so many people, but being able to get into your community to affect the kids, to affect the homeless, to affect some of our veterans who are getting looked over, especially in the Tampa Bay community, that’s the biggest platform you can have as a football player.”

As far as the Dream Room, Winston explained the greater impact of giving kids access to technology early and often in primary schools.

“[I have] the privilege to open these Dream Rooms, based off of technology and the STEM program: science, technology, engineering and math,” Winston said. “Giving kids that are underprivileged opportunities to have Wi-Fi and have access to the internet within school, whether that’s after school, whether that’s before school, to give them an opportunity to do their homework and different assignments.”

Bucs QB Jameis Winston: Photo by: PewterReport.com

Winston continued.

“Allow them to go in there and dream big. Allow them to work on things that they may aspire to be, whether that’s in robotics or coding or just being able to function on the internet. Think about how many jobs the internet has for people these days. If these kids don’t get access to the internet early and often, they might lose out on the trends. There’s no more reading the newspapers to find job apps. It’s surfing the web, learning how to do that effectively and efficiently and creating a path for yourself.”