FSU Football is the program that produced one of the best, if not the best, players in the history of the sport with the first Heisman winner.
When the book is written on the history of the FSU football program, there are a few names that are going to be at the top when it comes to the best to ever wear the garnet and gold – and the man who wore the No. 17 in the early 1990s is going to be front and center as maybe the best to ever play for the Seminoles.
For two seasons, Charlie Ward didn’t just dazzle those who were fans of the Seminoles but was also someone who was so magical under center that he essentially changed the way that quarterbacks played the game. Before Michael Vick and even Tim Tebow, there was Charlie Ward doing his thing.
That fact makes it funny that, during a list by the Tampa Bay Times of the top 50 players to play for a school in the state of Florida, the first quarterback to win a Heisman Trophy for FSU football and lead the Seminoles to a national title was actually NOT ranked as the best player to play in the Sunshine State.
Florida State Seminoles Football
Instead, that award went to Tebow for his work after playing nearly two full years more than Ward did while Tebow played for the University of Florida.
"“Nearly a decade after his University of Florida career ended with an historic Sugar Bowl performance, Timothy Richard Tebow remains the greatest college player this state has produced. He was so transcendent, so dominant, he likely still will be regarded as the best player in state history a generation from now.”"
The writer, Joey Knight, did give Ward the credit he deserved for two magical seasons in Tallahassee.
"His Heisman season of 1993 was a thing of beauty. Ward completed nearly 70 percent of his passes (264-for-380) for 3,032 yards, 27 touchdowns and only four interceptions. His piece de resistance, a 33-21 win at Florida (446 yards, four TDs), handed fourth-year Gators coach Steve Spurrier his first loss at home.When his career ended with a national-title-clinching Orange Bowl win against Nebraska, Ward owned 19 school and seven ACC records."
Now, let us just say it like it should be said: without Charlie Ward dominating college football while leading the FSU football team to a championship, dual threat players like Tim Tebow do not exist. That is not us being biased, that is just an actual fact.
If Ward was able to spend all four seasons starting for the Seminoles or at least played the same amount as Tebow, he would have had more yards passing yards than the man from Gainesville – and more than likely would have led the Seminoles to their first title maybe a few seasons before.
Tim Tebow was a very good quarterback during his time in Gainesville…but, without a doubt, Charlie Ward was the best college football player from the state of Florida. Ever.