The Daily Nole

17 Days Until FSU Football: No. 17 Charlie Ward Becomes Legendary

John Iacono /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

There are 17 days left until Florida State football starts the 2018 season. As part of the offseason, we’re highlighting players, games, and specific moments from FSU football history.

On Thursday, it was Florida State scoring the game’s final 18 points to knock off Notre Dame in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.

Today, it’s quarterback Charlie Ward, who wore No. 17 and ascended to legendary status as Florida State’s signal-caller.

A native of Thomasville, Georgia, Ward’s first glimpse of the field for Florida State was at the team’s punter as a freshman in 1989. Ward averaged a respectable 37.1 yards per punt that season, but that wasn’t the aspect of his game that catapulted him into FSU lore.

Given his great athleticism and unique skill set, head coach Bobby Bowden and staff transitioned to a system that resembles the modern spread after Ward took over as the starting quarterback in 1992. The system came to be known as the “Fast Break Offense”.

“You have to be willing to adapt,” Ward told The Daily Nole in January. “Coach Bowden was willing to change what he was used to doing. I admired that he was willing to sacrifice that for my success.”

Ward’s first half-season as starter was marred by turnovers, but the Thomasville native was able to overcome those by leading fourth quarter comebacks in thrilling road wins at Clemson and Georgia Tech. Throughout the latter part of the 1992 season, Ward had settled in and found his comfort zone. FSU finished 11-1 and ranked second in the nation after a 27-14 win over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. That would set up a monster 1993 season.

After throwing 17 interceptions in 1992, Ward was able to reduce that number to just four as a redshirt senior in 1993. Ward passed for 3,032 yards and accounted for 31 total touchdowns while going on to become the first FSU player ever to win the Heisman Trophy.

Charlie Ward became the first Florida State player to win the Heisman Trophy in 1993. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

Throughout the course of the 1993 season with Ward at the helm, the Seminoles averaged more than 41 points per game and an ungodly 548 yards of offense. Ward would garner 740 of a possible 790 first-place votes to take home the Heisman Trophy.

For Ward, the 1993 season was filled with memorable moments from his beauty of a throw to Matt Frier in a 28-10 win over Miami to his 79-yard touchdown toss to running back Warrick Dunn in a 33-21 win over Florida. The Seminoles would finish the season 11-1 and again face Nebraska in the Orange Bowl — this time for the national championship.

With FSU trailing 16-15 with just over a minute to play and the season on Ward’s shoulders, the redshirt senior marched the Seminoles down the field in Miami to set up Scott Bentley’s 22-yard field goal in a thrilling 18-16 victory. When the polls came out, FSU was national champions for the first time in program history.

Ward not only starred for Florida State on the gridiron, but on the hardwood as well. As the team’s starting point guard, Ward led the Seminoles past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in 1992 and 1993. The 1993 team finished one win shy of the Final Four.

Despite all of his college success as a quarterback, Ward would go the basketball route and spend 11 seasons in the NBA, most of which with the New York Knicks. Ward was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame in 1999. 25 years after the conclusion of his playing days and Ward remains arguably the most important player in program history.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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