A Few Special Quarterbacks
By Jim Joanos
As I write this, Florida State University has won its first five games of the season and will next play Clemson in a very important matchup. By the time you read it, the regular season will be more than half complete. Regardless of what happens in the next couple of weeks, it seems clear that FSU with Jameis Winston has one of the finest quarterbacks in its history. His strength and accuracy as a passer is outstanding.
The importance of a passing quarterback in FSU’s system is nothing new. Ever since head coach Bill Peterson in 1964, installed a professional-style offense with a major emphasis on passing, the position of quarterback has occupied center stage at FSU. FSU has had some fine passing quarterbacks and it is a pleasure to remember some of them.
Steve Tensi was the quarterback when Coach Pete led the college football world into a major emphasis on passing in 1964. Those of us who witnessed the 1964 season well remember the long, high arching passes that Tensi threw to FSU’s first consensus All-American, wide receiver Fred Billetnikoff.
There were other great passing quarterbacks during the Peterson era. Kim Hammond in 1967 led FSU to a 7-2-2 record including a trip to the Gator Bowl. Bill Cappleman, the “passing machine” led the offense during the 1968 and 1969 seasons. In the three seasons that he played varsity ball he amassed 4904 yards through the air. That was outrageous at the time.
Gary Huff, “the Magic Dragon,” was the quarterback leader in head coach Larry Jones’ first two years at FSU, 1971 and 1972. His performance in the first ever Fiesta Bowl game at the end of the 1971 season against Arizona State is definitely on the list of all-time great performances by an FSU quarterback.
During Bobby Bowden’s tenure as head coach, the list of legendary quarterbacks at FSU grew considerably. Some of my favorite recollections are about the two-headed quarterback system that FSU used during three seasons from 1977 through 79 when Wally Woodham and Jimmy Jordan shared the spotlight. Both were great passers and seemed to alternate games in which each would have fantastic performances.
One of my all time favorites was Danny McManus who led the team in 1986 and 87. His performance in 1987 led the team to an 11-1 record including a 31-28 victory over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl and a second place final ranking by the Associated Press Poll and the United Press International polls, the highest that FSU had attained up to that point.
Chip Ferguson led the Seminoles to a 11-1 record including a 13-7 win over Auburn in the Sugar Bowl during the 1988 season.
Peter Tom Willis had limited playing time during his first three years at FSU being forced to back up Danny McManus and Chip Ferguson. However, in his senior year in 1989, he more than made up for it. He led the team to a 10-2 record including another victory (41-7) over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl, good for third place in the national standings at the end of the year.
Casey Weldon was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy following the 1991 season. He won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award that is given to the nation’s best passing quarterback as determined by the sponsors of that award.
Charlie Ward not only won the Heisman Trophy in 1993 as the most outstanding football player of the year but led the FSU team to its first ever National Championship. He is the most decorated football player in FSU history in that he won numerous other awards in 1993 including the Davey O’Brien award for the number one quarterback in the country, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award, and the Maxwell Award presented to the player determined to be the best in the country for the season.
Danny Kanell quarterbacked the team to a pair of national fourth place finishes in 1994 and 1995. He was the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year for his work during the 1995 season.
Thad Busby was the starting quarterback for the Seminoles during the 1996 and 97 seasons and led the team to national third place finishes both years.
Chris Weinke was the Seminoles’ starting quarterback for three seasons, 1998, 1999, and 2000. After each of those seasons, FSU played for the national championship. They won it in 1999. In that season the Seminoles led the country in the polls from the beginning to the end. For his efforts Weinke became the second Seminole to win the Heisman Trophy. At the end of the 2000 season, he was also awarded the Davey O’Brien and the Johnny Unitas awards.
Quarterback play has been outstanding since Jimbo Fisher took over as head coach beginning with the 2010 season. Both Christian Ponder, and E.J. Manuel, who have led the team during that time had outstanding college careers, were first round draft picks and are currently playing in the National Football League.
It will be fun to see how well Jameis Winston continues to do. Will he be just another great passing quarterback for FSU or will he be better than that? That will be hard to do.
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