This shouldn't surprise anyone: A former Heisman-winning Florida State quarterback thinks the Seminoles' current quarterback is a definite Heisman contender.
Charlie Ward won the Heisman while leading the Seminoles to the 1993 national title as a senior. Redshirt freshman Jameis Winston has the Seminoles in the national title hunt this season and is considered a top-three Heisman contender in most projections.
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Ward told The Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat that what the local media had been seeing from Winston, "the nation had the opportunity to see up close and personal" Saturday night when Winston threw for a career-high 444 yards in leading the Seminoles to a rout of host Clemson.
"He played loose, confident and with a chip on his shoulder," Ward said. "He understands the moment and has a lot of characteristics the great players have: He's a competitor and a talent."
Ward also told the newspaper that successful teams are balanced offensively and that "FSU has that balance. And Winston is obviously playing well. He knows when to throw it, how to throw it and throw it to the right guy."
FSU's other Heisman winner was Chris Weinke, in 2000. He led FSU to the national title game that season, but the Seminoles lost to Oklahoma.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
