How Anquan Boldin went from QB to WR in FSU’s star-studded receiver room

Anquan Boldin wanted to get on the field at FSU as soon as possible. Even if that meant walking into the best wide receiver room in the country. 

As Boldin told Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem of the OGs podcast, his dreams of playing quarterback lasted about one practice and, from that point on, he decided it was more important to get on the field. Boldin suggested a move to safety, but head coach Bobby Bowden said that the Parade All-American from Pahokee, Florida, was too good with the ball in his hands to move to defense. So he could play running back or wide receiver, Boldin chose to join the receiver, a room full of future All-Americans and Heisman contenders.

"I had never played receiver before," Boldin said. "And the room that went into, the receiver room, it was like Peter Warrick, Ron Dugans, Laveranues Coles, Snoop Minnis...all these dudes that got drafted, and I'm walking into there as a quarterback, you know what I'm saying? But two weeks later we played Louisiana Tech and I get two touchdowns. First game."

So Boldin, a true freshman, stepped into a room with Warrick, who would have won the Heisman in 1999 if not for that Dillard's incident; Minnis, who was an All-American in 2000 and a Biletnikoff Award Finalist; and Coles, who was booted from the 1999 team after above-mentioned Dillard incident, but still went on to be a Pro Bowl wide receiver in the NFL.

That doesn't include guys like Dugans, Atrews Bell, Talman Gardner and Robert Morgan among others. FSU's wide receiver room was absolutely ridiculous. In this world of endless transfers, it's hard to imagine a top quarterback prospect staying at his first school and switching to play at a position where the Seminoles were stacked. But guys like Boldin were built differently back then. 

​Boldin was supposed to be the next great FSU quarterback

Many forget that Boldin was recruited to play quarterback. And Boldin wasn't some "athlete playing quarterback" at Pahokee High School, he was a legitimate top dual-threat quarterback prospect and a player that Bobby Bowden and then-FSU offensive coordinator Mark Richt thought could be the second coming of Charlie Ward.

Plus, FSU's quarterback situation coming out of the 1998 season was very murky. Dan Kendra tore his ACL during the 1998 spring game and had planned to switch positions to fullback when he returned to the field in 1999. Chris Weinke's future was uncertain after he suffered a neck injury against Virginia on a hit from Patrick Kerney that forced him to miss the final three games of the season.

The other two quarterbacks on the roster were Marcus Outzen (R.I.P. Rooster) and Jared Jones, the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 1998 class from Walla Walla, Washington. So it was conceivable that FSU needed Boldin to come in as a true freshman in 1999 and at least run the scout team if not compete for snaps.

Weinke, however, had a full recovery and Outzen would be battling Jones for the backup spot, leaving Boldin on the outside looking in and ready to move to wide receiver. The move could not have worked out better. Boldin eventually became a second-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals (54th overall) and set a rookie record for receiving yards in his first game as a pro.

Boldin had an amazing NFL career that spanned 14 seasons. He finished with 1,076 receptions for 13,778 yards and 82 touchdowns with the Cardinals, Ravens, 49ers and Lions. Boldin was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2003, a three-time Pro Bowler (2003, 2006, 2008) and the recipient of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2015. He won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2012-13 season.