Jameis Winston's Mentoring Florida State Phenom, Shares Leadership Advice

Jameis Winston can add "mentor" to his list of football accomplishments, 'cause the former Seminole is sharing his expertise with Florida State's newest QB ... and it seems to be working.

Redshirt freshman Deondre Francois buried Ole Miss with a 22-point comeback win Monday, and comparisons immediately began between the new QB, and the Heisman winning Winston.

TMZ Sports spoke with Francois' former coach, Barry White, who says Winston reached out to Deondre after last year's Peach Bowl ... and has been guiding him since.

“Jameis is very different from Deondre", White says. "He’s outgoing, loves to talk, kid around and he’s not shy at all. He’s encouraging Deondre to be a leader and to be more vocal towards his teammates because Deondre can be timid at times.”

White's been a father figure to Deondre since his days coaching him with the Orlando Outlaws pop warner football team, and says between his and Winston's influence, sky's the limit for the kid.

"There’s no ‘I’ve arrived, I’m the man,’ kind of talk happening now. We’re just getting started. He didn’t get a lot of praise from me for everything he did. I told him the things he needs to improve, but at the end of the day, I told him to have fun.”