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College football: Ranking the NFL careers of Heisman Trophy winners 1975-2005

By Nick Villano

Sep 1, 2018; South Bend, IN, USA; Tim Brown the 1987 Heisman Trophy winner poses with the Heisman Trophy at the Heisman House located outside Notre Dame Stadium before the Michigan Wolverines play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; South Bend, IN, USA; Tim Brown the 1987 Heisman Trophy winner poses with the Heisman Trophy at the Heisman House located outside Notre Dame Stadium before the Michigan Wolverines play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Charlie Ward
Charlie Ward (Photo by BRIAN BAHR/AFP via Getty Images) /

Ranking NFL careers of Heisman winners: 30. Charlie Ward, QB, Florida State

Maybe it is unfair to put Charlie Ward last on this list. He was so good at football and basketball, he was allowed to choose sports. However, it is hard to rank Ward anywhere but last after not even considering playing professional football after winning the Heisman Trophy for Florida State.

Ward had one of the greatest jumps from his junior year to his senior year when it comes to accuracy and overall effectiveness from the quarterback position. After a volatile season where he threw 22 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his first year as a starter, Ward threw for north of 3,000 yards with 29 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. He completed close to 70% of his passes after hitting on just 55% of his passes the season before. It was an impressive jump.

He led Florida State to its first-ever National Championship beating the great Nebraska team 18 to 16. Ward said he deserved to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, but no team was willing to commit that kind of pick on him and he actually went undrafted entirely. So, he chose basketball.

The Knicks took Ward with their first-round pick, and he went on to have a 10-year career in the Big Apple. Ward made $34 million over his NBA career, so it’s hard to say this was the wrong decision. It is interesting to see what he could have done if he was given a shot in the NFL.

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