For FSU Legend Charlie Ward, the Past Shapes the Present

Charlie Ward has always been up for a challenge.

After leading Florida State to the 1993 national championship and taking FSU’s basketball team to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, it’s safe to say he’s faced quite a few. Ward’s experiences at FSU transformed him into the man he is today. Now, he uses those experiences to influence the lives of young men in his community.

Ward wanted to play under legendary head coach Bobby Bowden, so he chose to attend FSU in 1989. His decision meant that he would play football right down the road from his hometown of Thomasville, Georgia.

“FSU was a very good school that was close to my hometown,” Ward said. “I wanted to stay close to home so those who had supported me in high school could come watch me play.”

Needless to say, his choice paid off.

After dealing with turnover issues as a starter in 1992, Ward excelled during the Seminoles’ championship run the following season. Some of his most memorable performances include comeback victories over Georgia Tech and Clemson in 1992 and Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the 1993 national championship – one of his favorite memories and his final collegiate game.

When Ward became the starter in his junior year, Bowden changed the offense to an early version of the “run-and-shoot,” an offense which emphasizes receiver motion and on-the-fly adjustments to receivers’ routes based on the defense. The change worked wonders for Ward, who received seven postseason awards following his Heisman Trophy-winning 1993 season.

Ward won every award he was eligible for his senior year. Image via FSU Athletics.

Bowden’s influence extended off the field as well. In addition to connecting with then-quarterbacks coach Mark Richt and assistant coach John Eason, Ward learned the wide-ranging aspects of coaching — aspects he would use later in life.

“[Coach Bowden] treated us like his sons,” Ward said in a 2014 interview with WSRE-Pensacola’s Jeff Weeks. “I didn’t know that 20-plus years later I would be coaching, and also using some of the same things that he did as a coach now.

“He molded us to have a heart for God, and that goes a long way outside of football. … He was a man of integrity, so everything he wanted to do was above board.”

Today, Ward coaches football at Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola, Florida, where his duties include being a dad, planning out football schedules, checking on kids in class and meeting with business leaders in the Pensacola community. While state championships and on-field success are two of his goals, he ultimately desires to help his players leave a legacy at the school.

“The wins will come, but when it’s all said and done, what kind of legacy can we leave with the kids, and what kind of legacy can the kids leave behind once they go on to college or wherever they may go?” Ward said later in the interview with Weeks. “[The main goal] that we’re trying to accomplish is leaving a legacy…”

Ward with fellow Heisman winner Jameis Winston in 2013. Image via NBC Sports.

And Ward knows a thing or two about leaving a legacy. In 2015, he gave Seminole cornerback Jalen Ramsey his blessing, allowing the junior to wear his retired No. 17 while returning kickoffs. His Heisman Trophy? It doesn’t stay at his home or inside his parents’ house.

It sits in the Thomas County Public Library — as it has for the past 20 years — back in Ward’s hometown.