UPDATE: Winston named Stanford, Oregon and UCLA his co-leaders for this story, but did not eliminate other schools. On Wednesday, the Central Catholic four-star athlete released an official final four:

Here are my top 4 schools in no order! Can't emphasize enough how blessed I am. Thank you for all the support! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/d6wXwSNmda — $howtime (@LamarWinstonJr) June 10, 2015

Rivals four-star athlete La'Mar Winston has heard the criticism from fans when he cited psychology courses as a reason to eliminate Oregon State, or academics for shaping the top schools on his board.

And frankly, behind a mother, Elizabeth Richard, who has delivered a strong message that academics are every bit as valuable as athletics, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound outside linebacker/wide receiver's sole focus is on creating the best possible future for himself.

"I think people believe that athletes that are performing well in high school, the majority of them, a significant sum of all those athletes, are just thinking, 'I'm going to go to the (NFL) in three years. I'm going to go to the league in two years.' I feel like that comes especially with African-Americans, because a whole bunch of African-Americans that get drafted... go to college and are one-and-done or two-and-done. All of those different aspects come into play," he said. "When there is a time that an African-American athletes comes in, and I don't really have a goal to go to the league, but I do want to get both of my degrees, or two of my degrees - my bachelor's or master's degree in a certain area - then I feel like they don't really believe it. They feel like it's a cover. That's what I honestly believe. Since previous athletes have been trying to get into the league so much... Times are changing. Athletes are actually looking forward to getting their degrees, and not so much looking to the league."

Winston is a prospect who understands the reality of football.

According to the NCAA, the percentage of high school football players who play professionally is 0.08 percent, while NCAA football players make it to the professional ranks at a rate of 1.6 percent.

Even with an NFL average of 3.3 years per professional career, according to the NFL Players Association, those numbers are worth weighing.

"There's not a lot of athletes that are going to go to the league. And even if you go to the league, the average career is what? Three years? So, I've got to be ready to do something else after that," Winston explained. "I just want to be able to take care of as much school before, so if I do end up going to the league or something like that, I'll be ready for injury, if I'm not performing well, anything like that."

That mature, measured outlook comes, in large part, thanks to Winston's mother.

"I can't even express how much I appreciate my mom for being able to drill that into me and help me understand that sports isn't everything," he said. "I love sports. I love football. I'm devoted to football, but at the end of the day the first thing I always handle before anything else would be school. I'm glad that my mom preached that to me and drilled that into my brain to the point that it's my mindset and she doesn't have to worry about it at all. I really, really, really appreciate it."

With a recent offer from Stanford and an increased focus on academics as a recruiting pitch by UCLA, Winston has a new top three after naming the Ducks his leader earlier this spring.

"I would say that, at the moment, Stanford, UCLA and Oregon are tied," he said.

UCLA has been in the mix for some time, but it's the academic recruiting effort that has launched the Bruins into the top grouping.

"I love how they recruit, Coach (Scott) White," Winston said. "I have the opportunity to come in and immediately play at the SAM position. I was looking into their psychology courses, and talked it over with the coach. He's really trying to get my academics straight and figure everything out. I like that, because he's putting effort into getting information about what I want to study, helping my mom out."

Stanford, on the other hand, has the best psychology program of the bunch, which Winston indicated will be a factor going forward.

Then, there's Oregon, a program that has been the favorite for some time and has the added bonus of an immediate connection between Winston and head coach Mark Helfrich.

"It was special being able to talk to the head coach. He did a great job. I felt very comfortable," Winston explained. "I know he's a very popular guy, but he felt like a real person. That was huge for me - to be comfortable and not intimated by his status as the head coach."

But Winston recognizes the inside track Stanford and UCLA have established. Tied with the Ducks prior to a visit, those trips could be game-changers.

"They already have my academics covered. I know I'm going to be fine, athletics-wise," he said. "Now, I just see how the relationship falls with the coaches and how the players interact and see how well I would fit in with those (players)."

Oregon is also behind Stanford and UCLA in psychology department rankings, as Stanford and UCLA are ranked Nos. 1 and 13, respectively, in the country, while Oregon sits at No. 21.

"I want to work in the area of helping people, and I really love studying, breaking down the mind, seeing how the mind works - why people do certain things," he said. "I've been interested in it since grade school. I want to pursue that. At Central (Catholic), I'm taking psychology classes. That is one of the things I would really like to be in, being a (psychologist). What I really love is that psychology is not one area. I can work in multiple areas."

Winston's recruitment will come down to more than just what is offered on the field, and while Oregon has strong academic offerings, it may be tough to match Stanford and UCLA.

Expect Oregon to be in a battle for the state's top player until signing day, but from there the outcome is far from assured.

-- Andrew Nemec

anemec@oregonian.com

@AndrewNemec