The Seminoles have had three quarterbacks take home the Heisman trophy in their history, but only two have made this list of top 10 passing yardage leaders in FSU football history. That’s a testament to the talent at quarterback in Tallahassee over the years.
The same goes for national championship-winning QBs, with only two on the list. Heisman trophy winner and national champ, Charlie Ward just missed the list and is 12th all-time, but certainly deserves mention. You can check out the complete all-time list of Florida State quarterbacks, but here were are locked in on the top 10.
There are plenty of quarterbacks with gaudy career numbers for Florida State including Mike Norvell’s current quarterback who continues to climb this all-time list. Let’s get into it with No. 10.
FSU football career passing leader No. 10: Deondre Francois (2015-18)
- 6,291 passing yards
- 36 passing touchdowns
- 58.0% completion
- 7.3 yards per attempt
After redshirting in his freshman season, Francois was in a quarterback battle ahead of the 2016 season but won the job after Sean Maguire suffered an injury. Francois looked to be the answer for Jimbo Fisher after Maguire and Everett Golson split time in 2015 when the Noles went 10-3 in the first year post-Jameis Winston.
In 2016, Francois led Florida State to another 10-3 season and an Orange Bowl victory. The Seminoles finished the year ranked 11th in the College Football Playoff rankings after Francois threw for 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Florida State came into 2017 ranked No. 3 in the country, but Francois suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. Florida State went 5-6, which ended Jimbo Fisher’s tenure.
Francois returned to have a solid year in 2018, but Florida State went 5-7 and he was forced to leave the program in 2019 after a video of a domestic dispute with his girlfriend surfaced on social media.
FSU football career passing leader No. 9: Danny Kanell (1992-95)
- 6,372 passing yards
- 57 passing touchdowns
- 62.2% completion
- 7.5 yards per attempt
Danny Kanell had to wait his turn behind Charlie Ward in 1992 and 1993, but when he got his shot in ’94 he made the most of it. Kanell threw for 2,781 yards and 17 touchdowns with 13 interceptions in his first year as Florida State’s starter and the Seminoles went 10-1-1.
His signature moment that season came against Florida when he led the Noles back from down 31-3 in the fourth quarter to force a tie. He then beat Florida in the rematch at the Sugar Bowl.
In 1994, Kanell came back even better. He threw for 2,957 yards and 32 touchdowns with the same number of interceptions.
In his four seasons, Kanell never experienced a bowl game loss. He watched Ward go 2-0 in the Orange Bowl, which in 1993 clinched the national championship. Then Kanell went 2-0 with a Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl win himself.
Kanell was a fourth-round pick to the Giants in the 1996 NFL Draft.
- 6,378 passing yards
- 52 passing touchdowns
- 55.0% completion
- 8.0 yards per attempt
Gary Huff played sparingly in his first season under Bill Peterson, only attempting 81 passes, but when Larry Jones took over in 1971 he let Huff cut it loose. Huff attempted the eighth most passes in the country in ’71 and second most in ’72.
Huff was a gunslinger, he finished his career with 52 touchdowns, but also 42 interceptions. In 1972 he was second in the country with 23 picks, but also finished 10th in Heisman trophy voting that year and led the country with 26 touchdowns responsible for.
Huff’s aggressive mindset was appealing to the Chicago Bears who selected him in the second round of the 1973 NFL Draft.
Florida State football career passing leader No. 7: Christian Ponder (2007-10)
- 6,872 passing yards
- 49 passing touchdowns
- 61.8% completion
- 7.1 yards per attempt
At the end of Bobby Bowden’s career, he had one last great quarterback and Ponder was his parting gift to Jimbo Fisher who inherited him in 2010. Ponder had three straight 2000-yard seasons and led the Seminoles to 10-4 in Fisher’s first year.
Ponder had some issues with turnovers, throwing 30 interceptions across his career, but in his junior year, he threw for 2,717 yards and completed 68.8% of his passes. After only a slight statistical dip and a few more touchdowns as a senior, Ponder caught the eyes of the NFL decision-makers.
Ponder was selected 12th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings, but never panned out as a starter and only played in the league for four seasons.
FSU football career passing leader No. 6: Drew Weatherford (2004-08)
- 7,567 passing yards
- 39 passing touchdowns
- 57.1% completion
- 6.7 yards per attempt
As a redshirt freshman in 2005, Drew Weatherford was handed the keys to Bobby Bowden’s offense and proceeded to throw for 3,209 yards and 18 touchdowns, but he did have 18 interceptions.
It looked like the future was bright, but Weatherford regressed statistically in each of the next two seasons before losing his starting job to Christian Ponder in 2008, Weatherford’s redshirt senior season.
FSU football career passing leader No. 5: Jordan Travis (2019-23)
- 7,638 passing yards
- 60 passing touchdowns
- 62.6% completion
- 8.4 yards per attempt
Jordan Travis’s story at Florida State is still being written, and it looks like it is shaping up to be an exciting ending. Travis transferred to Florida State in 2019 after a season at Louisville and is now in his fourth year as the starter.
Travis took a leap in 2022, becoming an elite college quarterback and leading Mike Norvell’s first winning season. Florida State went 10-3 and finished 13th in the final CFP rankings. Travis threw for 3,214 yards and 24 touchdowns with just five interceptions.
- 7,741 passing yards
- 47 passing touchdowns
- 66.9% completion
- 8.6 yards per attempt
Before there was Jameis Winston, there was EJ Manuel. Manuel quarterbacked the Seminoles in 2011 and 2012 as the starter and put up big numbers in Jimbo Fisher’s offense.
It was clear that the Seminoles were building to something great after going 12-2 in Manuel’s final season, 2012. The very next year, Winston took the team to the national championship.
Manuel threw for 3,397 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2012 and was drafted in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.
FSU football career passing leader No. 3: Jameis Winston (2013-14)
- 7,964 passing yards
- 65 passing touchdowns
- 66.0% completion
- 9.4 yards per attempt
Winston was the top quarterback recruit in the country in 2012 and he committed to play at Florida State despite being drafted by the Texas Rangers in the MLB Draft. He redshirted behind Manuel in his first year, but in 2013, he took over the starting job and college football.
In his debut, Winston went 25 of 27 passing for 356 yards and four touchdowns. He even ran for 25 yards and another score in a win over Pitt. He went on to throw for 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns that season en route to the Heisman Trophy and national championship.
Perhaps his best game of the season came against No. 3 Clemson in Death Valley when he threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns in a dominant win.
The 2014 season was a bit more tumultuous for Winston and it ended with a loss in the first College Football Playoff semifinal to Oregon. Winston was drafted first overall ahead of Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in the 2015 NFL Draft.
FSU football career passing leader No. 2: Chris Rix (2001-04)
- 8,390 passing yards
- 63 passing touchdowns
- 55.2% completion
- 8.1 yards per attempt
Two years removed from the program’s second-ever national title, Rix had a very tough act to follow as a freshman. He was named the starter of the Seminoles, replacing Chris Weinke who was off in the NFL.
In 2001 as a freshman, Rix threw for 2,734 yards and 24 touchdowns. Florida State was still a very talented team and he led the Noles to 8-4 with a win in the Gator Bowl. He was Bobby Bowden’s only four-year starter and that allowed him to compile some great career stats, while never reaching the heights of a Weinke, Ward, or Winston.
FSU football career passing leader No. 1: Chris Weinke (1997-00)
- 9,839 passing yards
- 79 passing touchdowns
- 58.7% completion
- 8.9 yards per attempt
After Charlie Ward led the Noles to the mountaintop in 1993, Bowden was looking for the next quarterback to lead them back. That guy ended up being Weinke in 1999 when he took the Seminoles to their second national championship in school history with a 12-0 season.
Weinke spent six years in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system before heading to Florida State as a 25-year-old in 1997. Bowden had recruited him out of high school in 1989 and came knocking once Weinke quit baseball.
He and the Seminoles defeated Michael Vick and Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl for the national championship.
The next year was his best personally, Weinke threw for 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2000 which won him the Heisman Trophy. He led the country in passing yards, yards per attempt, and was second in passing touchdowns.