Latest / The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast / Florida State QB Jordan Travis

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Florida State QB Jordan Travis · The Heisman Hopefuls Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the official highly trophy podcast.
0:32
SPEAKER_01: Here's your host, Chris Houston.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to episode nine of the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
0:39
SPEAKER_01: We're coming off the heels of a momentous weekend in college football, one in which perhaps some clarity was brought to the Heisman race as we head into the second half of October.
0:49
SPEAKER_01: And we're getting to the point where things will start to separate a bit in the Heisman race, which is really just like an election.
0:56
SPEAKER_01: You know, so imagine a bunch of voters out there trying to decide who they want to vote for.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: And games are like primaries.
1:03
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes uh someone wins a primary, sometimes they lose a primary.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: Uh but if you get enough of these primary wins uh rolled together, you start to get a momentum toward uh end result, and the voters look at all these different uh outcomes and then they choose accordingly.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: And as we get closer to the Heisman ceremony, I'm gonna talk a bit more about how the voting process works and what voters historically have looked for.
1:29
SPEAKER_01: But in the meantime, we've got another fantastic show featuring one of the best players in the country, Jordan Travis, quarterback of the undefeated Florida State Seminoles.
1:39
SPEAKER_01: And we will follow that up with an interview with 1993 Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, also out of Florida State.
1:46
SPEAKER_01: So we have an all Florida State episode this week.
1:49
SPEAKER_01: But before we get to all that, let's kick things off like we always do by checking in on the Heisman race.
1:56
SPEAKER_01: It's the Heisman Roundup.
1:59
SPEAKER_01: We start.
2:05
SPEAKER_01: In this week's roundup, we're going to lead off with head-to-head performances from a pair of Heisman hopefuls.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: Washington's Michael Pennix Jr.
2:12
SPEAKER_01: and Oregon's Bo Knicks both turned in huge efforts in an epic Pacific Northwest rivalry game as the Huskies etched the Ducks 36-33.
2:21
SPEAKER_01: Penix Jr., who leads the country in passing yards per game at its third in quarterback rating, completed 22 of 37 passes for 302 yards and four touchdowns.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: The final won its 18-yard strike to Roma Dunze with 138 left for the decisive score.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: Chris Fowler with the big call.
2:55
SPEAKER_01: As for Nix, the senior who leads all of college football in completion percentage did all he could for the Ducks, throwing for 337 yards and two scores on 33 of 44 passing.
3:05
SPEAKER_01: He rallied Oregon from 11 points down midway to the third quarter to take the lead in the fourth before Penix Jr.'s throw it.
3:12
SPEAKER_01: Here's a thoughtful reply from Nick's when asked how the Ducks will respond.
3:15
SPEAKER_02: A lot of people, you know, they want to see how we respond.
3:18
SPEAKER_02: And uh I'm excited for that.
3:19
SPEAKER_02: I think that's the challenge that, you know, I can't wait for.
3:22
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, this group is going to be able to, you know, um, write its own story, write its own journey.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: LSU quarterback Jaden Daniels, who I hear might be on the show next week, turned in another monster game to lead the Tigers to a 48-18 walloping of Auburn.
3:44
SPEAKER_01: Daniels passed for 325 yards and three scores, surpassing the 5,000-yard career mark in Baton Rouge in the process.
3:51
SPEAKER_01: 6-4 senior, who also ran for another 93 yards, opened the game scoring with this 29-yard TD pass to Malik Naples.
4:02
SPEAKER_05: Malik Napers!
4:15
SPEAKER_01: North Carolina quarterback Drake May kept the Tar Heels unbeaten thanks to a season-high four touchdown passes and a 41-31 victory over Miami.
4:23
SPEAKER_01: Three of May's touchdown passes went to Devontae's Walker, including this 56-yard bomb early in the third quarter that put North Carolina up for good.
4:56
SPEAKER_01: Travis ran for a season-high two touchdowns and threw his 13th scoring pass of the year, including this 58-yard aerial to Keon Coleman to give Florida State a two touchdown lead.
5:43
SPEAKER_01: The guest of honor for the gala is the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, as well as the 50th anniversary winner John Capoletti, the 25th anniversary winner Ricky Williams, and the 10th anniversary winner Jameis Winston.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: Plus, we'll also be honoring the 2023 Heisman Humanitarian Award winner.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: Just go to Heisman.com to purchase tickets and witness Heisman history.
6:03
SPEAKER_01: Our first guest is quickly becoming a legend down in Tallahassee.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: He is the quarterback for the number four team in the country, the Florida State Seminoles.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: So far this year, he has 1,482 yards passing, 13 touchdowns with only one interception, 114 yards on the ground with another four touchdowns.
6:21
SPEAKER_01: You're just not going to find many more players out there who are as talented and as likable as Jordan Travis of Florida State.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: Jordan, thanks for coming on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
6:31
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having me, man.
6:32
SPEAKER_03: I appreciate you.
6:33
SPEAKER_01: The Seminoles are off to their best start since 2015.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: You guys seem to be clicking like never before.
6:38
SPEAKER_01: What's been the biggest difference between this year's team and the previous FSU teams you've been on?
6:44
SPEAKER_03: Um I would say that it starts off with the Brotherhood.
6:46
SPEAKER_03: Um it all starts there.
6:48
SPEAKER_03: Um if you're not gonna play for the guy next to you, I feel like a team will never be successful.
6:52
SPEAKER_03: Um the mindset is very different too, man.
6:54
SPEAKER_03: Just coming to work every single day, um, not worrying about distractions, anything outside, bad calls during games.
7:00
SPEAKER_03: Um just try to control the controllables, and that's all you can do every single day on a daily basis.
7:05
SPEAKER_03: Um just focus on the play in front of you, focus on the day in front of you.
7:09
SPEAKER_03: Uh, don't get too far ahead, man.
7:11
SPEAKER_03: Just take everything game by game, and that's what we've been doing.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you sound uh very even keeled about everything.
7:16
SPEAKER_01: Do you think being uh you know uh super senior, 23 years old, does that really help you uh and all the things you've been through, give you a lot of perspective on everything you guys are going through?
7:27
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, um obviously, I mean, it it is an advantage going through um a lot of different experiences throughout my college career.
7:35
SPEAKER_03: Um, none like this year so far.
7:37
SPEAKER_03: I mean, there's always been there's always ups and downs throughout a year that you might have never been through before.
7:41
SPEAKER_03: So still learning every single day, doing my best to just learn and trying to help the guys around me.
7:46
SPEAKER_03: Um that's the main thing for me is showing these young guys how to work and how you have to show up 10 minutes early.
7:53
SPEAKER_03: Just like the little things that are necessary for a program to be successful.
7:57
SPEAKER_03: Um I feel like all the little things matter, and Coach Narvell always talks about little things or how you treat people um outside of the stadium.
8:04
SPEAKER_03: It translates to the field.
8:05
SPEAKER_03: Um, just things like that, man.
8:07
SPEAKER_03: So I've been just trying to show the younger quarterbacks, the younger players, and even the older guys that look up to me.
8:11
SPEAKER_03: I just try to lead by example every single day.
8:14
SPEAKER_01: Some of these guys are five years younger.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: I I talked to Sam Hartman, he's kind of in the same situation.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: How how do you relate to some guys who are in some cases they're they're 18 years old just out of high school?
8:25
SPEAKER_03: Um, I feel like the guys that come in are they're pretty mature, man.
8:29
SPEAKER_03: Um I mean it was a while ago, but I I do remember coming in as a freshman.
8:33
SPEAKER_03: Everything went by so fast when you're in college and you're having fun and just doing what you love.
8:38
SPEAKER_03: The years go by fast.
8:39
SPEAKER_03: So I feel like it was yesterday when I was a freshman.
8:41
SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, man, I feel like it's it's not too hard.
8:44
SPEAKER_03: Um we have Brock, for example, is 18 years old.
8:48
SPEAKER_03: He came in and that's one of my best friends.
8:50
SPEAKER_03: Uh he's just a really mature kid.
8:52
SPEAKER_03: Um, and I can just see myself in him, and it it's it's really great, just uh it's a blessing to be able to work with a kid like that and teach him the ways and is there.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh, Rick New Heisel said you've been brilliant when the lights have been brightest, and that was definitely the case against LSU and at Clemson.
9:09
SPEAKER_01: What does your mental preparation look like in the lead up to these kind of high-stakes games?
9:14
SPEAKER_03: Um, it's the same thing every week for me.
9:16
SPEAKER_03: Um it starts in practice.
9:18
SPEAKER_03: I mean, it starts starts with film, practice, all those little things.
9:21
SPEAKER_03: Um getting my body right, hydrating throughout the week, that's the main part.
9:24
SPEAKER_03: You have to hydrate to feel good on Saturdays.
9:26
SPEAKER_03: So I mean, those games are I treat every game the same, no matter who we're playing.
9:32
SPEAKER_03: Um every game's a big game for me because I've been at Florida State when we lost to Jacksonville State.
9:37
SPEAKER_03: Um it doesn't matter who you're playing when you're playing a D1 football team.
9:41
SPEAKER_03: Um it's not easy to win football games no matter who you're playing.
9:44
SPEAKER_03: So I take it with a grain of salt and just I mean, take it day by day.
9:48
SPEAKER_03: If it's Monday, I'm gonna watch my film, rest my body, get my treatment.
9:51
SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, man, and just work hard throughout the week.
9:54
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, uh my mental preparation is always the same.
9:57
SPEAKER_03: Just stay even killed no matter what.
9:59
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I've been through a lot and a lot of ups and downs out of my career, so I feel like it's it's helped me get to the point where I'm at now.
10:07
SPEAKER_01: And that career, of course, started down at the Benjamin School at uh Palm Beach County.
10:10
SPEAKER_01: What schools were you considering coming out of high school and what led to your ultimate pick of Louisville?
10:16
SPEAKER_03: Um I was between UNC and Louisville.
10:21
SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, I I mean at the time I Louisville was my first big offer.
10:28
SPEAKER_03: Um just a young kid with a with an offer like that, and then Lamar went there and we're kind of down, he's from down south too, so it kinda just felt like it was the right thing to do.
10:37
SPEAKER_03: Um I went there, man, it didn't work out.
10:39
SPEAKER_03: Um God had a different plan for me, and that's all I've been doing, just following God's plan.
10:44
SPEAKER_01: Your brother played baseball at FSU.
10:46
SPEAKER_01: Did that connection help sway you when it came time to decide where to transfer?
10:50
SPEAKER_03: Yes, sir, a hundred percent.
10:51
SPEAKER_03: Uh that's my it's Florida State's my dream school, like my dream dream school.
10:55
SPEAKER_03: Um, since a little boy, so being able to wake up every day, every day as a Florida State Seminole still, and being able to play quarterback for this university and represent this university is such a blessing.
11:08
SPEAKER_03: Um, I I thank God every single day for an opportunity like this.
11:12
SPEAKER_01: So you were uh doing the Tomahawk chop at an early age.
11:15
SPEAKER_03: Yes, sir.
11:16
SPEAKER_03: Very early.
11:16
SPEAKER_03: Yes, sir.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: So you're now passing some all-time seminals greats in a variety of categories.
11:22
SPEAKER_01: How familiar are you with this uh quarterback leg legacy at FSU?
11:27
SPEAKER_03: Um, I've been watching Florida State for a while now.
11:30
SPEAKER_03: So I mean, Jameis, Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel, James Blackman, um, DeAndre Francois, all those guys.
11:37
SPEAKER_03: I've been watching for a while now.
11:39
SPEAKER_03: So being able just to be talked about with those type of guys is is such a blessing for the man upstairs.
11:44
SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's something that you dream of.
11:46
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I used to dream of as a little kid running out on this field and being the quarterback of Florida State and talking with Jameis now, talk to Jameis every single week.
11:53
SPEAKER_03: And just like every time I get a text from it, it's just like it's it's like a surreal feeling, man, because it's like I used to look up to a guy like this, and now he's reaching out to me, telling him he's he's a fan of me, and he can't wait to watch me play this week.
12:05
SPEAKER_03: And it it's really, it's really awesome, man.
12:07
SPEAKER_03: I'm very thankful.
12:09
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a really cool feeling because you because obviously someone you looked up to, I mean, he his last year was nine years ago at uh Florida State.
12:18
SPEAKER_01: So you were you were 14, right?
12:20
SPEAKER_01: And you were watching the watching him play, so so it must be pretty cool just uh have him in your life.
12:25
SPEAKER_03: Yes, sir, it is.
12:26
SPEAKER_03: It's it's awesome for sure, man.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: Uh he actually graduated with you last spring.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: Uh did what was your uh undergraduate degree in?
12:34
SPEAKER_01: And uh are are you getting a graduate degree as well?
12:37
SPEAKER_03: Um it was it was social science.
12:40
SPEAKER_03: Um right now, um I was gonna get another minor, but I mean, this is my last semester here.
12:45
SPEAKER_03: So I mean later on I may come back and finish that off.
12:49
SPEAKER_03: Um but yeah, graduating with Jameis who that was that was pretty cool for sure.
12:55
SPEAKER_01: Who's been your biggest inspiration in your football career and and what have you learned from them that you apply in your own game?
13:02
SPEAKER_03: Are you saying someone that plays football or just anyone in my life?
13:05
SPEAKER_01: Could be anyone in your life, really.
13:07
SPEAKER_03: Um I would say either my dad or my brother.
13:10
SPEAKER_03: Um they've always I mean my mom is always there no matter what.
13:14
SPEAKER_03: That's my rock.
13:15
SPEAKER_03: But my dad and my brother has been the people I've talked to most when just going through a lot because obviously there's been tough times in my career that where I thought about giving up.
13:24
SPEAKER_03: And I've always had the best supporting cast.
13:27
SPEAKER_03: Um I'm I always brag about them to my my teammates and my my coaches because my family has never missed a football game in probably three, I mean probably four years since I've been playing.
13:37
SPEAKER_03: Um and when you have your family in the stands all the time, man, it pushes you just to be a better player and a better person and just gives you the motivation to go out and represent the name on your back.
13:46
SPEAKER_03: Um but my dad and my brother have always just pushed me and told me they have my back no matter what decision I make.
13:51
SPEAKER_03: My dad my first step of was telling my head coach at Louisville that I was transferring.
13:57
SPEAKER_03: That's a big step to take it to manhood.
13:59
SPEAKER_03: My dad had my back the whole way.
14:00
SPEAKER_03: And if you don't have your if you have your dad, if you don't have your dad's approval, I feel like it makes it a lot harder.
14:05
SPEAKER_03: Um my dad's always supported me, um, no matter what, and never let me give up.
14:10
SPEAKER_03: That was the main thing, just never give up.
14:12
SPEAKER_03: And he's taught me a lot is he's gone through rough times in his life, and he's always been the best dad of me, and I'm so grateful for him.
14:19
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: You've uh made a ton of great plays in your career.
14:23
SPEAKER_01: What would you describe or how would you describe the quintessential Jordan Travis play?
14:30
SPEAKER_03: Honestly, man, my my favorite types of plays is when I can hand the ball off and go run down the field and make a block for my running back.
14:37
SPEAKER_03: Um that's my favorite thing.
14:38
SPEAKER_03: I always want them to cut back.
14:39
SPEAKER_03: Um I mean, I'm just out there trying to make the best play for my team to help this team win.
14:44
SPEAKER_03: My goal every single weekend is to win football games.
14:47
SPEAKER_03: I don't care if I go for zero yards, zero touchdowns, as long as we win and or one no on the week, I I have a smile on my face.
14:55
SPEAKER_03: So I mean, man, I'll just do anything to help this team win.
14:58
SPEAKER_01: Describe to me the most memorable moment of your college career.
15:05
SPEAKER_03: I would say I mean, I have I would I have two.
15:10
SPEAKER_03: My f I obviously my first game ever playing at Florida State, scoring my first touchdown on the first play.
15:14
SPEAKER_03: I was in at Boston College in 2019.
15:17
SPEAKER_03: Um that was that was been a play that would stick with me forever.
15:20
SPEAKER_03: Um Coach Biles and Coach Odell trusted me at that time to go in there and make a play for a football team to help a football team win.
15:28
SPEAKER_03: And once again, that's always my goal.
15:29
SPEAKER_03: And obviously, I would say Miami or Florida, when we played Miami and we won on the we got the fourth and fourteen play, that's always been a play that stuck with me forever because I've always had doubters that said I couldn't throw the football and couldn't make plays in big time games.
15:44
SPEAKER_03: And my team has always helped me do that and made the job easier for me.
15:48
SPEAKER_03: But being able to overcome all that adversity and all the noise on the outside uh was I was I was great for sure.
15:56
SPEAKER_01: What's the best part about playing college football?
16:00
SPEAKER_03: I'm the brotherhood.
16:02
SPEAKER_03: Um I have people around me every single day that I have around me for the rest of my life.
16:07
SPEAKER_03: Um I met my best friends on this football team.
16:10
SPEAKER_03: Uh we hang out every single day.
16:12
SPEAKER_03: I mean, for example, we go to camp, we're in camp for 10 hours, whatever it is, 12 hours a day, and we leave and they come over to my house and we still hang out.
16:21
SPEAKER_03: It's like I saw you all day, and it's like they're just my boys, man.
16:24
SPEAKER_03: These are like my brothers.
16:25
SPEAKER_03: Um I'm so grateful for them because not every team is like this.
16:29
SPEAKER_03: Not every team is this close, and not every team, every team has humble people that are just special people that care about one another, um, love to see each other succeed.
16:37
SPEAKER_03: Um, that's another thing we have is a bunch of self selfless guys.
16:41
SPEAKER_03: Um we have receivers that take over 20 yards one game and 200 yards in the next game, and you never hear them complain.
16:46
SPEAKER_03: So that's what I think is really special about this team.
16:48
SPEAKER_03: So yeah, this brotherhood is is one of a con.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
16:53
SPEAKER_01: Who's the toughest player you've had to go up against in your career?
16:58
SPEAKER_03: That's a good question.
17:00
SPEAKER_03: I would say honestly, this year, um linebacker from Clemson Trotter, um uh he's a tough guy, he's a strong guy.
17:11
SPEAKER_03: I think he slammed me and attacked me on one play.
17:13
SPEAKER_03: Uh he's a really tough guy that just comes hard all the time.
17:16
SPEAKER_03: Um but I played a bunch of great players throughout my career.
17:19
SPEAKER_03: Um Yeah, man.
17:21
SPEAKER_03: PJ Weaver, I think it was Paris from Pitt a couple years ago.
17:25
SPEAKER_03: There's a bunch of guys.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:27
SPEAKER_01: When you see those guys lined up and you're you're getting ready to get the ball, are are you are you like thinking in your head that guy just sacked me earlier in the game?
17:35
SPEAKER_01: I gotta really gotta keep an eye out on this on this guy, get away from him.
17:39
SPEAKER_03: No, sir, you can't have that mindset playing quarterback.
17:41
SPEAKER_03: Um, you always have to have the next play mentality.
17:43
SPEAKER_03: Um I get sack one play, um, it happens.
17:46
SPEAKER_03: I know offensive line makes mistakes sometimes, and I make mistakes sometimes.
17:49
SPEAKER_03: So my job is to trust my guys around me, and that's what I've been doing this year.
17:53
SPEAKER_03: If I get sack one play, um I'm gonna stand in the pocket of the next play and trust my guys.
17:57
SPEAKER_03: That's my job.
17:58
SPEAKER_03: Once again, as a quarterback, you have to trust the guys around you and allow them to make their plays.
18:03
SPEAKER_01: What quarterback would you compare yourself to as far as skill set goes?
18:09
SPEAKER_03: Um I would say I mean maybe Jalen Hurts.
18:13
SPEAKER_03: I mean, just the way he plays within the system and uses his feet when he has to, um, and makes throws when he has to.
18:19
SPEAKER_03: So I would say the leadership that Jaden Jalen Hurts carries and how he treats people and Azure I I would say that's I try to model myself after that and reserve.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: Cool.
18:32
SPEAKER_01: If you were a Heisman voter, then what would you look for in a quarterback beyond just the headline stats like yards and touchdowns?
18:38
SPEAKER_01: What would be the thing about a quarterback that would uh differentiate that player that you w wanted to vote for for Heisman uh from other players?
18:48
SPEAKER_03: Um I would say obviously the leadership qualities that the player has, like how how the guys around him feel about him and how the other guys around him respond.
19:02
SPEAKER_03: Um obviously the stats and all that stuff matters the most.
19:05
SPEAKER_03: I mean, winning football games and throwing a lot of touchdowns and running a lot of touchdowns and owning the ball, little things like that, man.
19:12
SPEAKER_03: But yeah, I would say the leadership qualities and I mean obviously how you are in the community.
19:17
SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, that's that's what I would say, man.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: What would you be doing if you'd never played college football, do you think?
19:26
SPEAKER_03: That's a good question.
19:28
SPEAKER_03: Um I don't know, man.
19:31
SPEAKER_03: I I have no idea.
19:33
SPEAKER_03: I'll do probably do something helping people.
19:35
SPEAKER_03: Um my goal of my whole life has been working to is to work with special needs kids at some point in my life.
19:42
SPEAKER_03: Um yeah, man.
19:44
SPEAKER_03: Uh that's my that's my dream dream job and dream goal at some point is after football, whenever it is, um, just to go back and help the community out and work with special needs kids, put smiles on their face and is there.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: That's great, because I was gonna ask you where you see yourself uh 10 years from now, and obviously helping with special needs kids is a big part of that, but where else do you see yourself 10 years from now?
20:08
SPEAKER_03: Uh on a boat fishing, uh my family, my brother.
20:12
SPEAKER_03: Um, I mean, hopefully in 10 years I have a couple kids running around because I'll probably be, what am I, we'll be 33 years old.
20:20
SPEAKER_03: Um, yeah, just having a great family, supporting my family, um, being a great father, being a great brother, being a great son, all that type of stuff, man.
20:28
SPEAKER_01: Well, that you can't aspire to much better than that.
20:32
SPEAKER_01: Jordan Travis, thank you for coming on the official Heisman Trophy Podcast.
20:35
SPEAKER_01: We wish you the best of luck to you and your team going forward this year.
20:39
SPEAKER_03: Thank you, man.
20:40
SPEAKER_03: I appreciate you.
20:40
SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having me.
20:56
SPEAKER_01: Take an even deeper dive into Heisman lore by going to Heisman.com, home to all things Heisman, including news, bios, and the latest on all the winners, plus updates on the Heisman Trophy Trust and its charitable mission.
21:07
SPEAKER_01: It's the A to Z for Everything Heisman, from Alan Amici to Danny Werfel.
21:11
SPEAKER_01: We really need a Heisman winner whose name begins with Z.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: This is Danny Werfel, 1996 Heisman Trophy winner, and you're listening to the official Heisman Trophy podcast.
21:25
SPEAKER_01: Since it is an all-FSU episode today, I thought only appropriate to keep the war chant going.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: We did balance it out a bit by having Danny Werfel, University of Florida 1996 Heisman Trophy winner, saying hello.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but let's say hello now to one of the most decorated players in the history of college football, Florida State's Charlie Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy 30 years ago in 1993 after leading the Seminoles to an 11 1 record and the national championship.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: Of course, Ward is one of the great athletes to win the Heisman Trophy.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: As he was also a stellar basketball player and went on to an NBA career after choosing basketball over football.
22:07
SPEAKER_01: Ward won the Heisman in a landslide over runner-up Heath Schuler of Tennessee.
22:12
SPEAKER_01: After throwing for 3,032 yards, 27 touchdowns, and just four interceptions, his margin of victory was a massive 1,622 points, second at the time only to O.J.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: Simpson's 1,750-point win in 1968.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: So without further ado, we're thrilled to have with us today uh the great Charlie Ward, 1993 Heisman Trophy winner out of Florida State University.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for coming on the show, Charlie.
22:38
SPEAKER_06: Thanks for having me.
22:39
SPEAKER_06: Look forward to uh uh going down memory lane a little bit.
22:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, before we do, uh I want to ask you, what do you think about the Knolls this year?
22:48
SPEAKER_01: They're sitting undefeated and in pretty good shape.
22:51
SPEAKER_01: But have you been following the team really closely?
22:54
SPEAKER_06: Uh yes, I do.
22:56
SPEAKER_06: We live here in Tallahassee, Florida.
22:58
SPEAKER_06: So um again, opportunity to converse and sometimes go over and watch them practice.
23:04
SPEAKER_06: Uh we're we're kind of expected this um coming into the season.
23:09
SPEAKER_06: Um so we're just happy to be where we are uh right now, you know, sitting at 5-0 uh with uh opportunities to continue uh the streak uh each and every week.
23:21
SPEAKER_06: But they're playing good football, offensively, defensively, special teams, uh consistently in a way.
23:28
SPEAKER_06: And I'm happy to see them doing well.
23:31
SPEAKER_01: We've also got uh Jordan Travis on this week's show.
23:34
SPEAKER_01: Have you been able to forge any kind of relationship with him, uh quarterback to quarterback?
23:40
SPEAKER_06: Yes, I um text him periodically, uh send prayers, uh encouragement to not just him, but uh all the quarterbacks that are there.
23:50
SPEAKER_06: Uh and so I just keep in contact with them all and I'm grateful that I do have uh I do have an opportunity to be to have a relationship with him and to see him doing well.
24:02
SPEAKER_06: He has a coach, so that's not my job.
24:05
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
24:06
SPEAKER_06: My job to encourage him and you know, just be there for him if he needs something.
24:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: Well, going back uh to growing up in Thomasville, Georgia, your dad was an athlete and coach.
24:18
SPEAKER_01: Sports was in your DNA pretty much.
24:20
SPEAKER_01: Um, but what was it about sports that appealed to you so much?
24:25
SPEAKER_06: Well, that was something that came easy to me.
24:28
SPEAKER_06: Um, God bless me with great hand-eye coordination, and at a very early age, and that's something that I continue to pour into.
24:39
SPEAKER_06: Um, I did it on a regular basis, uh, made everything uh a ball, um, socks, made that a ball.
24:48
SPEAKER_06: Um, I made everything a ball.
24:51
SPEAKER_06: And I bounced the basketball, got in trouble for doing it.
24:55
SPEAKER_06: You know, when you get in trouble for something, you have a gift and a calling.
24:59
SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, I consistently broke windows uh growing up uh because I was playing with the ball.
25:05
SPEAKER_06: And so I just continued to sow uh seeds into that realm, and uh it came to fruition to where, you know, the talent continued to blossom, and I was grateful that I got opportunities to use it.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: What was it like having your father as a coach growing up?
25:27
SPEAKER_06: It was tough, but it was good um as well because he pushed me to be the best that I can be.
25:32
SPEAKER_06: Uh he challenged me uh at an early age.
25:36
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but more importantly, you know, I got an opportunity to sit down with him and watch games at home.
25:42
SPEAKER_06: Um, I got a chance to watch him coach other players uh growing up.
25:48
SPEAKER_06: And so it was tough to play for him because he expected a lot.
25:53
SPEAKER_06: Uh but I think that helped me to uh develop a mental toughness uh that will be able to help me through all circumstances and situations that I faced uh you know growing growing up.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you're you're famous for for being a tremendous two-sport athlete.
26:12
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and obviously you played a lot of sports growing up.
26:14
SPEAKER_01: Did you favor one sport over the other early on, or or did you think maybe you were better at one than the other, or was it kind of always just kind of an equal love kind of thing going up?
26:23
SPEAKER_06: Uh well, I have a book out called The Athlete, and that is essentially essentially what I was.
26:29
SPEAKER_06: Um, I like to do, I should say.
26:32
SPEAKER_06: Um so anything that had a ball attached to it, you know, I enjoyed it, uh, tennis, uh ping pong, uh poo.
26:42
SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, we played all those sports growing up.
26:46
SPEAKER_06: And so though the only reason I didn't play three sports in college was because I didn't have time.
26:53
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
26:53
SPEAKER_06: Um, but I played two sports because I enjoyed, you know, the competitive spirit and competitive nature, uh, along with, you know, just being able to do the things that God had blessed me with from an athletic standpoint.
27:10
SPEAKER_01: So you wrote this book called The Athlete.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: Well, when did that come out?
27:13
SPEAKER_06: Uh it's been about four years now.
27:15
SPEAKER_06: Um, it's been out, it's on Amazon and Mars and Nobles, uh, where you can find it.
27:23
SPEAKER_06: But uh John Finkel wrote it, um, story on my life up until um I was coaching football at the time.
27:34
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but now I'm coaching basketball at Florida State University School.
27:40
SPEAKER_06: Uh so that's the continuation of my coaching career.
27:45
SPEAKER_01: So, all you listeners out there, if you're interested in uh a book about a great athlete, there is the athlete, uh, which is about Charlie Ward.
27:52
SPEAKER_01: So be sure to go out on Amazon and get it.
27:55
SPEAKER_01: Um, tell me a little bit about your recruiting process.
27:58
SPEAKER_01: What schools were you considering come out of high school?
28:01
SPEAKER_06: Well, it really came down to um three schools and then two.
28:07
SPEAKER_06: Um late in the game, Auburn decided to, it was four schools, uh, Auburn, uh Georgia Tech, Georgia, and Florida State.
28:17
SPEAKER_06: And Auburn late decided that they didn't want to recruit me anymore.
28:21
SPEAKER_06: So they were, you know, off the table.
28:25
SPEAKER_06: Uh Georgia Tech, um, I actually took a visit there, but my buddy Sean Jones, who I grew up with, my friends from Thomasville, uh, ended up deciding he wanted to go to Georgia Tech.
28:39
SPEAKER_06: Uh, we played the same position, so that was off the table.
28:42
SPEAKER_06: And then it came down to Georgia and Florida State.
28:46
SPEAKER_06: And essentially, uh, when both teams were very, very good and moving in the right direction.
28:55
SPEAKER_06: Georgia was recruiting me hard.
28:57
SPEAKER_06: Uh, so was Florida State.
28:59
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but I decided to go to Florida State uh because Coach Bowden had allowed Brad Johnson to play uh quarterback and basketball, and that's what I wanted to do.
29:11
SPEAKER_06: However, uh before that, um, there was some convention and coercing uh that needed to be done for Coach Bowden to accept me uh as a quarterback because um I was what they would consider dual threat type of guy.
29:29
SPEAKER_06: Um and in the system that they had currently run or was running at the time, uh they hadn't had someone like me um playing the position.
29:42
SPEAKER_06: And so there was some hesitation.
29:44
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but Coach McDuffie, uh who was recruiting me at the time, uh, was adamant that we needed to, that they needed to um offer me a scholarship or put me on the radar.
29:57
SPEAKER_06: And I was grateful that he was adamant about it because it gave me an opportunity to be closer to home, um, and for my parents to be able to come and family to be able to come, uh see me play more often, um, as well as, you know, the opportunity to play basketball and football.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: What was it like being recruited by Bobby Balden?
30:17
SPEAKER_01: There's so many stories out there about just how good natured he was and and personable and friendly.
30:22
SPEAKER_06: I mean, he was a legend, so you know, it was always when he came to a game, you know, uh, it was always um eye-opening um when you have, you know, a legend, Derek Coach, because I grew up watching Florida State play because they were so close and they were on our television a lot.
30:43
SPEAKER_06: Um we got a chance to see their games, and the Bobby Baum show was on all the time, uh, every Sunday morning.
30:51
SPEAKER_06: So it was um whenever he came and to the school, you know, it was eye-opening.
30:59
SPEAKER_06: And, you know, when he came to the house, it was still eye-opening.
31:02
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but you know, I just remember, you know, he he didn't have any catchphrases.
31:07
SPEAKER_06: I mean, he always did those anyway.
31:11
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but I just remember him sharing my my parents that you know he was gonna allow me to play basketball and football.
31:18
SPEAKER_06: And that was something that eventually my mom, you know, held his feet to the fire when it came to it.
31:26
SPEAKER_06: And he was of his word uh through the recruiting process.
31:30
SPEAKER_01: And it worked out for everybody.
31:32
SPEAKER_01: Um, you got to Florida State, you did some punting as a freshman, uh, which is which is kind of a uh a little factoid that not a lot of people know.
31:41
SPEAKER_01: Um by the time you took over the starting quarterback job, it was 1992.
31:46
SPEAKER_01: Kind of got off to uh a bit of a slow start, had a little bit of an interception problem early uh in the season.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: Um but people point to that Georgia Tech game as the game where uh you're uh you and the offense kind of turned around, and I've always heard people say that they just finally you know put the ball in your hands and and let you go out and make plays, uh doing that two-minute drill and the fast break offense.
32:15
SPEAKER_01: Is that pretty an accurate assessment of kind of how things went?
32:18
SPEAKER_06: Uh yes, essentially.
32:21
SPEAKER_06: Um, but what people really don't uh didn't understand at that time, and uh there's one thing that you can't uh replace, and that's experience.
32:34
SPEAKER_06: Um it's hard to uh replace experience, um, and I had no experience.
32:40
SPEAKER_06: Um all of my time at quarterback was uh geared towards you know, scout team and uh mop-up duty.
32:49
SPEAKER_06: Uh and so my first year was really the first time I had actually played in meaningful snaps in a game.
32:57
SPEAKER_06: Um, and so there were some things that I had to work out, um, and interceptions was part of the problem, uh, trying to figure that part out.
33:07
SPEAKER_06: And, you know, the Georgia Tech game was no different.
33:10
SPEAKER_06: Um, I had three interceptions in that game uh as well.
33:14
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but the great part about it was the defense we had was tremendous, and they kept us in every game and gave us an opportunity to win games uh at the end.
33:26
SPEAKER_06: Um, and so that was no different than you know the Georgia Tech game, which was a coming out game, coming out uh game because we were down like 21 points or so in the fourth, and we were able to you know crawl crawl out way back into the game uh by you know getting a two-minute offense that we normally run.
33:49
SPEAKER_06: Uh and because we had to score quickly.
33:52
SPEAKER_06: And that that time transferred into uh us doing it full time, uh, which at that time was new.
34:04
SPEAKER_06: Um we had gotten the offense from the Buffalo Bills, and so that was part of our, like I say, two-minute um two-minute offense, and we were accustomed to running two-minute offense.
34:17
SPEAKER_06: You know, we did it every uh Wednesday um in practice, or Thursday in practice, and so we we were accustomed to doing it, um, but now it became our main offense, and it was basic um for that year because we really, you know, weren't really planning on running it, uh, but it was different.
34:42
SPEAKER_06: It was a a change of pace uh for defenses where we started to not huddle.
34:48
SPEAKER_06: Um, and we, you know, caught defense sometimes going coming on and off the field, and sometimes we would, you know, go fast, sometimes we would slow it down.
34:59
SPEAKER_06: So it gave us an opportunity to, you know, be successful uh because defenses had to line up in a certain defense, and it made a lot easier for I know myself and others to be able to see blitzes, um, you know, and also clear clear it up space for the passing game and the game uh when you can spread spread teams out.
35:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, not many people remember that 1993 Florida State was one of the early spread offenses.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: Do you remember the conversation that was going on?
35:30
SPEAKER_01: Like so after the Georgia Tech game, what did the offensive coaches get together?
35:34
SPEAKER_01: Uh was it Mark Rick was in there, right?
35:36
SPEAKER_01: Um or yeah, I think he was he that year or was he the next year?
35:39
SPEAKER_06: Well, he was the uh at that time they didn't have co-OCs, but he was more so passing game coordinator.
35:47
SPEAKER_06: And uh Coach Brad Scott was the pretty much the run game.
35:52
SPEAKER_06: So they were got it, you know, tag teaming.
35:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: So what would was there a conversation being had, or was it Coach Bowden's idea?
36:00
SPEAKER_01: Who who kind of said, hey, you know, this really worked really well.
36:04
SPEAKER_01: It's our two-minute offense, we're running it really at a high rate.
36:07
SPEAKER_01: Let's do it all the time.
36:08
SPEAKER_06: Well, I think it was a coach's decision.
36:11
SPEAKER_06: Uh, you know, they got together and met on it.
36:15
SPEAKER_06: Um, I know Rick uh in uh my documentary that the uh ACC uh did, ESPN, uh did was, you know, his wife Catherine uh said, share with him that, you know, we we we we did a good great job of running it uh against Georgia Tech.
36:36
SPEAKER_06: So why don't we just start in it?
36:38
SPEAKER_06: And so that's kind of how we started.
36:40
SPEAKER_06: Unfortunately, the next week we played against Virginia and it was raining um the whole game.
36:46
SPEAKER_06: Uh so we weren't able to showcase some of it, a lot of it.
36:50
SPEAKER_06: We were able to win the game.
36:52
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but the next week is when we started to break out a little bit more uh each and every week.
36:59
SPEAKER_06: And it was um, you know, something that we started to do.
37:03
SPEAKER_06: Um I mean, that's what great coaches do.
37:05
SPEAKER_06: They find uh what is best uh for the group and then make it happen.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you guys are definitely uh carrying that over into the next season, which your team was just loaded in 1993 with talent on both sides of the ball.
37:18
SPEAKER_01: Did you go into that season with the Heisman Trophy as one of your one of your goals in addition to the to the you know national title uh goal?
37:26
SPEAKER_06: Uh yes.
37:27
SPEAKER_06: I mean, every goal that I was up for, um, I mean every award that I would be up for definitely wanted it.
37:36
SPEAKER_06: Uh but I had, I mean, everyone wants to win the Heisman.
37:40
SPEAKER_06: Um, so if you have a chance to do that, uh you can make it a goal.
37:46
SPEAKER_06: Um and that's probably everyone's goal going into their season, uh, that that they have a chance.
37:54
SPEAKER_06: But yes, it was one of them.
37:57
SPEAKER_06: Uh, along with winning the national championship was the main goal uh for for me that year.
38:04
SPEAKER_06: Um and I was grateful that I was on a solid team that would give us a chance to do both.
38:10
SPEAKER_01: What do you remember most about that year?
38:12
SPEAKER_06: Really, the Notre Dame game um stands out.
38:16
SPEAKER_06: Um, I mean, there was a lot of things, a lot of memories.
38:19
SPEAKER_06: You know, the first game against Kansas, you know, was uh it would turn out to be a blowout, but just the experience to be in Giant Stadium at that time was Giants Stadium Meadowlands uh in a pro stadium.
38:32
SPEAKER_06: So that was very, very uh fun experience.
38:36
SPEAKER_06: Um then our defense scored more points than the opposing team.
38:42
SPEAKER_06: Um you know that was crazy.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
38:46
SPEAKER_06: Um and then Derek Brooks.
38:48
SPEAKER_01: Derek Brooks was doing all kinds of stuff early on, right?
38:50
SPEAKER_06: Derek was amazing, defense was amazing.
38:54
SPEAKER_06: Uh I mean, like I said, there's a lot of great memories.
38:58
SPEAKER_06: Uh the defense, the D uh defensive uh stand, uh they had two weeks in a row, uh, even though the games were blowouts, but two weeks in a row, they had defensive stand against Kansas, uh defense stand, um goal line stands against Kansas.
39:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
39:17
SPEAKER_06: Um, and then of course the Notre Dame game was you know a huge uh game from a national standpoint.
39:27
SPEAKER_06: Uh and being a part of you know that environment, never been back, but first time going to Notre Dame, heard a lot about it, saw it on television, but it was just a great experience to be in that environment, even though we lost the game, uh, but it was a good competitive game.
39:46
SPEAKER_06: Uh and then you know, seeing Notre Dame lose the following week, that was a great, great memory because it uh you know, just us seeing them lose, and we had a game that night, and we were all uh watching them, watching Boston College kick the game winner, uh, which would help us um to you know get back in the mix because at that time, you know, it was two teams only, and you know, we wanted to be uh in one of those two teams.
40:20
SPEAKER_06: And that was good for us to be able to see that.
40:23
SPEAKER_06: That was a great memory to see everyone uh bust and cheers after they after Boston College kicked the field goal, and then us go take care of business against NC State.
40:34
SPEAKER_06: Um, and then the last, well, one of the last memories was us being able to go to uh the swamp, which they had a 23-game home winning streak at that time, and we were able to knock them off uh at home um with you know the play at the end of the game to seal it, uh, my pass toward uh done, which was a great memory.
40:59
SPEAKER_06: Um because it was very, very loud for two plays, and then it was very, very quiet with only our fans hearing the chop uh on third down after the touchdown.
41:12
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
41:13
SPEAKER_06: So that was a great memory.
41:15
SPEAKER_06: And then being able to play, you know, have playing a national championship game against Nebraska, who was a very tough team.
41:22
SPEAKER_06: Um, and uh, you know, there was a lot of ebbs and flows.
41:26
SPEAKER_06: Uh they were very physical uh during the whistle, after the whistle, uh they didn't care.
41:33
SPEAKER_06: Um, but we were able to navigate our way through our defense again, it was tremendous.
41:39
SPEAKER_06: You know, they gave up 16 points, uh, which, you know, that was that's amazing.
41:47
SPEAKER_06: Um again against an offense that was very, very tough with Tommy Frazier at the hem.
41:55
SPEAKER_06: And we were able to kick the game-winning field goal, you know, man at 16.
42:00
SPEAKER_06: We drove the football down uh to be able to kick the game-winning field goal and to be able to bring uh Florida State's their first national championship and Coach Baldum's uh first national championship was you know a great memory as well.
42:15
SPEAKER_01: Your trip to New York for the Heisman, what was what was that experience like?
42:19
SPEAKER_01: Meeting the other finalists and meeting other Heisman Trophy winners?
42:22
SPEAKER_01: What do you remember most about that?
42:25
SPEAKER_06: Uh well the experience was was a very good experience because I got an opportunity to share it with my family.
42:31
SPEAKER_06: So all of my family was there, aunts and uncles, um, my siblings, my parents.
42:38
SPEAKER_06: Um, and so that was all that was a great environment.
42:41
SPEAKER_06: Um, some it was our first, I know my yeah, most of our family was our first time going to New York.
42:46
SPEAKER_06: So that was a great experience.
42:48
SPEAKER_06: And being able to go to a you know NBA game at the garden was a great experience.
42:57
SPEAKER_06: Again, a chance to, you know, meet Heisman Trophy winners that I looked up to as a as a as a young kid.
43:06
SPEAKER_06: Um, most of them I had had either a post in my room or wore the jerseys.
43:12
SPEAKER_06: Um, and so that was a great eye-opening moment.
43:15
SPEAKER_01: Who were you most excited?
43:16
SPEAKER_01: Who were you most excited to meet with Heisman winner?
43:18
SPEAKER_06: Tonador Set was one of my heroes growing up.
43:22
SPEAKER_06: Getting a chance to uh meet Tonador Set was, you know, something that was huge for me.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: When you made that trip to New York, you probably had a decent inkling that you were gonna win the Heisman.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: But going through that whole process and being up there for a live show, was it a little bit nerve wracking to sit there and wait for your name to be called?
43:44
SPEAKER_06: Uh it wasn't really nerve wracking.
43:47
SPEAKER_06: Um, because you know, my philosophy is I mean, I'm I'm here, um, I'm in the mix, and either you're gonna win or you're gonna lose.
43:58
SPEAKER_06: So at That point, um, you know, the votes were in and all those types of things, and you had done everything that you could possibly do, and it was just a matter of waiting to hear if your name's gonna be called.
44:10
SPEAKER_06: Um, but I was told that if your name is called, um, it definitely will uh change um your outlook, change who people think you know, perceive you to be, um in in the in that regard.
44:28
SPEAKER_06: Uh so it was um I wouldn't say nerve-wracking, but anxious to to hear uh if you're gonna if your name's gonna be called.
44:39
SPEAKER_06: Um but I was grateful when they did call it uh because I was gonna I was the first national, I mean uh Heisman winner from um from FSU.
44:53
SPEAKER_06: Um also you know, I was a young boy growing up from growing up in a small town um of Thomasville, uh first there.
45:04
SPEAKER_06: And so just the journey to to get there uh was kind of overwhelming.
45:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
45:13
SPEAKER_01: Uh were those people who told you that your life would change, would were they right?
45:18
SPEAKER_06: Uh yes, because I'm talking to you.
45:22
SPEAKER_01: That's true.
45:23
SPEAKER_06: Uh then if I didn't win a Heisman, you wouldn't be calling me about uh doing a podcast.
45:28
SPEAKER_06: Um and one of the things people recognize when you go places, um, you know, if they don't know who you are, I mean, they they know who the Heisman is.
45:41
SPEAKER_06: Um sometimes who people recognize, they can recognize they recognize that part.
45:48
SPEAKER_06: Um so um, you know, my story would be different, you know, if I was a regular, not say regular, but a person who didn't win the Heisman, uh being the first Heisman NBA player.
46:02
SPEAKER_01: Right.
46:03
SPEAKER_06: So you know, great stories.
46:06
SPEAKER_06: Um, so that's ways that you know things change.
46:12
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so now you won the Heisman and then you chose the NBA over the NFL.
46:18
SPEAKER_01: What were the factors that led you to going the basketball route?
46:22
SPEAKER_01: And do you think you'd make the same decision with today's offense kind of being probably more attuned to to what you're doing back then?
46:32
SPEAKER_06: Well, it really came down to a job opportunity.
46:35
SPEAKER_06: Um as simple as that.
46:37
SPEAKER_06: Um yes, today would be different because NFL's NFL teams view my position differently.
46:46
SPEAKER_06: Um at that time, it was more so size and fit with what their what they felt the first round pick should look like at quarterback, and I didn't fit that.
46:59
SPEAKER_06: Um so that's why I wasn't chosen first.
47:02
SPEAKER_06: Um, and the reason I wasn't drafted at all was because uh they felt like I wasn't 10% committed to the NFL process, which they were correct.
47:12
SPEAKER_06: I mean, I wasn't 10% committed, um, but because I wanted to keep my options open.
47:18
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but I did work to try to do as much as I could uh to provide you know all the things that they needed for me uh to get drafted.
47:28
SPEAKER_06: Uh, but I did make a statement that if I got drafted after the first round, or if I didn't get drafted in the first round, and I got drafted in the other round, then I would consider my other options, which at that time, my other options was the inner the Major League Baseball, um, Canadian football, and possibly the NBA uh draft, um, because the draft was you know like a month or two after the NFL draft.
48:02
SPEAKER_06: Uh so but my prayer was you know open a door, close a door.
48:07
SPEAKER_06: Um, and the Lord closed the NFL door by not getting me, not allowing me to be drafted at all.
48:15
SPEAKER_06: Um, so after that, I went and put all my time and energy into you know preparing for the NBA draft.
48:23
SPEAKER_06: And the Lord opened that door for me to uh get drafted in the first round, uh, which someone took a chance uh on me, and I was grateful for it.
48:34
SPEAKER_01: Well, it definitely worked out very well for you.
48:37
SPEAKER_01: Um, but while you're playing in the NBA, did you ever just kind of miss football?
48:43
SPEAKER_06: I mean, I gotta share with you, you know, it was a job.
48:47
SPEAKER_06: And at that point, everyone wants a job after after college, and I had a good job.
48:54
SPEAKER_06: So I was doing something I enjoyed.
48:56
SPEAKER_06: As you as I told you earlier, um, I was an athlete, and most athletes want to be a professional um in some form or fashion after they graduate from college.
49:09
SPEAKER_06: And so I had an opportunity to be in one of those uh professional leagues.
49:14
SPEAKER_06: Um and so I enjoyed watching my my teammates uh compete in NFL.
49:22
SPEAKER_06: Got a chance to go watch work uh done when he came out of uh when he came out in his rookie year.
49:29
SPEAKER_06: I got a chance to go watch him play uh San Francisco 49ers, and that kind of helped confirm to me that I knew I could play in the NFL because I got a chance to see Steve Young um playing.
49:45
SPEAKER_06: And he his height and everything was very similar style of play.
49:51
SPEAKER_06: Um and that just confirmed that I could play in the NFL and I was cool after that point.
49:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
49:59
SPEAKER_01: Since you left the NBA, you've concentrated on coaching, both basketball and football.
50:03
SPEAKER_01: What's the best part about coaching?
50:06
SPEAKER_06: Uh being able to uh give back what someone gave to me.
50:11
SPEAKER_06: Um essentially, you know, I had a lot of great coaches.
50:14
SPEAKER_06: You know, I mentioned my dad, uh watching him coach.
50:18
SPEAKER_06: You know, I had a great middle school coach, uh, had great high school uh football coaches uh that poured into me.
50:25
SPEAKER_06: Um, you know, the discipline, um, the team unity, um, understanding how to be a great teammate, um, the experiences of being in you know big games and situations, the preparation, uh, all those things I wanted to be able to share with others and give them opportunities, um, expose them to uh what they could you know dream to be.
50:52
SPEAKER_06: Because, you know, I didn't have an opportunity to go to very many uh NFL games growing up or NBA games growing up.
51:01
SPEAKER_06: Um, but you know, we had NFL uh players from my hometown that gave to us and gave back to us to help us have opportunities.
51:13
SPEAKER_06: And so I just wanted to uh be able to have that same experience for the uh student athletes that I I uh or that I'm able to mentor um as well.
51:27
SPEAKER_01: In 2015, you started the Charlie and Tanya Award Charitable Foundation.
51:31
SPEAKER_01: What have you guys been working on since then?
51:34
SPEAKER_06: Well, our foundation, we have two missions.
51:36
SPEAKER_06: One is uh youth character development and uh disaster relief.
51:41
SPEAKER_06: And so we work to partner with uh those organizations that uh focus on youth character development, and uh we partner with uh God's pit crew uh to do um some blessing buckets to help support those uh families that have uh had disaster uh within you know their their towns.
52:03
SPEAKER_06: Um we helped pack some blessing buckets um for those families.
52:10
SPEAKER_06: And so those are that's our two mission um statements or vision for our uh founder.
52:18
SPEAKER_01: And for those of you out there who who care to uh support the Charlie uh Ward, uh Charlie and Tanya Ward Foundation, you can go to charleyward.org.
52:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh just a few more questions to wrap things up uh that we're asking, uh we're asking some general questions of all the Heisman winners we have on.
52:35
SPEAKER_01: Um number one, what's your favorite Heisman moment by someone else?
52:39
SPEAKER_06: It's either the Dez uh Desmond Howard punt return or the Tim Brown punt return.
52:46
SPEAKER_01: Both incredible uh returns that were huge parts of uh of them winning.
52:51
SPEAKER_01: Uh, where do you keep your Heisman trophy?
52:53
SPEAKER_06: I currently have uh my Heisman at the uh public library in my hometown of Thomasville, Georgia.
53:00
SPEAKER_01: Ah, very cool.
53:02
SPEAKER_01: Describe to me your kind of Heisman moment signature play.
53:06
SPEAKER_01: What happened on that play?
53:08
SPEAKER_06: Well, more than likely it was third and ten uh in the swamp.
53:12
SPEAKER_06: We were up maybe five points because UF had made a comeback in the fourth quarter, and the play was 344 takeoff, and we got some pressure up the middle, and I was able to bounce outside, and then I hit Ward uh for the game-sealing uh touchdown.
53:32
SPEAKER_06: And I do believe that was a great moment.
53:35
SPEAKER_01: All right.
53:36
SPEAKER_01: Who's the greatest Heisman trophy winner of them all?
53:39
SPEAKER_06: I mean, you gotta go Archer Griffin.
53:41
SPEAKER_06: Um, I mean, he's the only two-time winner.
53:44
SPEAKER_01: If you can give out an extra Heisman to someone who didn't win the Heisman, who would you give it to?
53:49
SPEAKER_06: Probably would be Peyton Manning.
53:52
SPEAKER_01: Peyton Manning, all right.
53:53
SPEAKER_01: Who's the toughest player you ever played against and why?
53:57
SPEAKER_06: Football.
53:58
SPEAKER_01: Uh well, you can go both, football and basketball.
54:00
SPEAKER_01: That'd be great.
54:01
SPEAKER_01: Or our ping pong.
54:05
SPEAKER_06: I would say defensive, uh, I'll just use not individual, uh, but defensively, I would say one of the toughest uh defenses I played against was uh Nebraska in the uh the championship game.
54:22
SPEAKER_06: Um even though they did do some dirty things like hidden late, um, those types of things, but they were physical, uh well coached, and you know they they competed at a high level.
54:36
SPEAKER_01: You were kind of beat up in that game a little bit, I I as I recall.
54:40
SPEAKER_01: You got hit a lot.
54:41
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I did.
54:43
SPEAKER_06: But I knew their their philosophy, what they were trying to do, uh, but it was mind over matter at that point.
54:51
SPEAKER_06: Um I had to continue to persevere through it, even though we we were getting free 15-yard penalties.
54:58
SPEAKER_06: But it didn't take me out of my game.
55:01
SPEAKER_06: Uh I knew that's what they were trying to do.
55:04
SPEAKER_06: Um, but that would be, you know, defense, I would say.
55:09
SPEAKER_06: Um was was very, very tough.
55:12
SPEAKER_06: And then basketball-wise, I mean, you know, you have Alan Iverson, uh, Stefan Marberry, all those guys that I had to compete against, uh, Tim Hardaway.
55:24
SPEAKER_06: Uh, those are guys that were very, very tough.
55:27
SPEAKER_01: And then finally, what would you be doing if you never played?
55:31
SPEAKER_01: I was just gonna say just college football.
55:33
SPEAKER_01: Let's just say, what would you be doing if if you never played any professional sports or if you never got into college sports?
55:39
SPEAKER_06: Not 100% sure, but I did get my degree in therapeutic recreation.
55:43
SPEAKER_06: And so I probably would be uh in some form of recreation.
55:51
SPEAKER_06: Um I or OT.
55:54
SPEAKER_06: Um I I leisure services was either occupational therapy, uh, which I did, uh a couple of um internships at a rehab hospital, um, and or I could run a parks and recreation department.
56:12
SPEAKER_06: Um, that would probably be what I would uh be doing.
56:15
SPEAKER_06: And what I'm currently getting ready to do uh with our family foundation, uh looking to build a uh sports and wellness uh facility.
56:27
SPEAKER_01: Oh, where does this project exist and what is the timetable for its completion?
56:32
SPEAKER_06: Well, we're in the process now of uh planning to build it and we're getting the property and the renderings and all those different types of things that's up and running as we currently speak.
56:45
SPEAKER_06: And hopefully by 2025 or the spring of 2025, um we would you know have um a facility in place uh doing some um youth sports uh and adult programming um at the facility.
57:04
SPEAKER_06: It'll be here in Tallahassee.
57:06
SPEAKER_01: Charlie Ward, 1993 Heisman Trophy winner.
57:09
SPEAKER_01: Appreciate you taking the time to appear on our show.
57:11
SPEAKER_01: We're recording this on October 11th.
57:14
SPEAKER_01: I believe tomorrow is your birthday, October 12th.
57:17
SPEAKER_01: So we wish you a happy birthday as well.
57:19
SPEAKER_06: Thank you.
57:19
SPEAKER_06: I appreciate it, and um appreciate you having me on.
57:23
SPEAKER_06: Uh, I've been listening to you guys, and I was grateful to be able to be included.
57:27
SPEAKER_01: Well, we were thrilled to have you, and uh hopefully we'll see you in New York in a few weeks.
57:31
SPEAKER_01: All right, thank you.
57:33
SPEAKER_01: The official Heisman Trophy podcast streams every Wednesday during the college football season, and it's hosted, co-produced, edited, and engineered by Chris Houston.
57:41
SPEAKER_01: Paul Goldberg is the executive producer and editor.
57:44
SPEAKER_01: Special shout out to Isaac Lowencron, and big thanks to the Heisman Trophy Trust and its executive director, Rob Whalen, and Associate Director Tim Henning.
57:51
SPEAKER_01: The official Heisman Trophy Podcast can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, and anywhere you listen to your favorite podcast.
57:57
SPEAKER_01: You can also find clips of our show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
58:01
SPEAKER_01: Just go to Heisman Trophy.