Return of the Quarterback: The Christian Ponder Story
by HerstyNole on Oct 23, 2009 2:24 PM EDT
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Christian Ponder came to Florida State with low expectations. Many believed he would become a good backup quarterback, or an okay starter. Before the fall of 2008, senior quarterback Drew Weatherford was still the starter for the Seminoles; however Coach Jimbo Fisher had become impressed with Christian’s intelligence, accuracy, and athleticism. Despite this, Drew was still the starter and there was no definitive second stringer with D'Vontrey Richardson also challenging Drew with his 4.4 speed. However, the depth chart was anything but set for the 2008 season.
Shortly before their first game of the season against Western Carolina, Florida State announced that Christian Ponder had won the starting quarterback position over Drew Weatherford. It was said to be a very tough decision in which Christian very narrowly won out. Quarterbacks Coach Jimbo Fisher attributed the promotion to the same impressive athleticism, intelligence, and accuracy he had mentioned before. Also noting he was the most consistent quarterback out of Richardson, Weatherford, and himself.
The season began well, but it was not surprising given the Seminoles first two games were against D1-AA opponents. Christian threw for 6 touchdowns, no interceptions, and 376 yards in these first two games. Next came Wake Forest and their defense. In this game, Ponder threw 3 interceptions, zero touchdowns, and had an efficiency rating of just 24.3. He was benched in favor of Richardson in the second half. To many, it appeared that Ponder’s early success was merely the result of playing cupcake opponents. Ponder remained the starter and improved in the next game against Colorado but still failed to throw a touchdown pass, threw an interception, and once again posted a poor quarterback efficiency rating of just 81.8. In the fifth game of season, Ponder began to really pick it up rushing for 144 yards against Miami for 7.6 yards/carry. He threw for 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, and 159 passing yards.
At this point, many could no longer deny his athletic ability but many still doubted his passing ability. What many failed to account for was the fact that he was playing behind one of smallest and the youngest offensive lines in the country. The pocket frequently collapsed around him and was often forced to make throws under intense pressure. He also had only started 5 games in his college career. Fisher even stated that Ponder had the potential to become the best quarterback he has ever coached, a bold statement seeing as he had previously coached JaMarcus Russell (#1 overall draft pick in the 2007 draft). I remember hearing this and thinking it must have been a bit of an exaggeration but as the season progressed I began noticing things beyond the stats. His delivery, arm strength, quick release, lateral speed, and competitive nature blew me away. He also played the second half of the season while injured, yet continued to improve statistically. And one more thing, he is smart, really, really smart.
Ponder caped off the season with 2006 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, a quarterback efficiency rating of 115, a 55.7 competition percentage, and a dominating victory over Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl. When looking at his performance against DI-A opponents, Ponder has amassed a mere 8 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, a completion percentage of 54.8, and 1630 passing yards in 11 games. Despite these statistics the Ponder faithful believed there was more to this quarterback than these stats. This idea was cemented for me after Georgia Tech last year in the 4th quarter as Ponder drove down the field twice against Georgia Tech for what should have been 2 scores to win the game with 45 seconds left. Despite the loss, Ponder looked like the hungry quarterback that FSU had lacked for nearly a decade.
Coming into the 2009 season, Jimbo and Christian both consistently stated that the number one improvement Ponder had made was in his confidence. This had allowed him to calm down make his read, stop forcing throws, and just find what was open. He had faith in his O-line and was planning to spend much more time in the pocket finding his receivers. I thought about this increase in confidence and then though about my own performance in high school football. I played o-line, d-line, and all special teams but my strength was as an offensive tackle. My junior year I had a grasp of all the plays but really only had been familiar with them for about a year and I also was not confident at all about my ability. I ended up being just a 1st-Team All District and All Conference player at the end of the year. I also was plagued by a broken wrist throughout the second half of my season. As a senior, I finally played my first year with absolute confidence and an a complete understanding of my ability. I also knew the playbook like the back of my hand. I really had not improved elsewhere as I had pulled my hamstring (thus limiting my speed/agility training) before the season started and had only moderately improved strength wise. But I was confident now and didn’t second guess myself. I finished the year being a 1st Team All-State Offensive Tackle and believe it was almost solely the result of being confident in myself. While many may have seen Ponder’s resounding claim of total confidence in himself as a rather pedestrian statement, I was extremely excited to hear it over and over. To me, nothing excited me more about this season than his improved confidence.
Despite critical game changing drops, countless fumbles, a poor run game which simplifies the defenses concerns, a knee injury (and perhaps now an elbow injury), many young receivers, the loss of a great tight end, a defense that demands the offense be able to score on almost every drive, a coaching staff in disarray, disappointing losses, an offense composed of mostly rivals 3-star players, and losing receivers that produced nearly two-thirds of all receiving yards before 2009 began, Christian Ponder has thrown for 2176 yards, 12 touchdowns, just ONE interception, for a 70 percent completion percentage, and a quarterback efficiency rating of 155.79 in just 7 games against one of the hardest schedules in the country!
He threw for 3 touchdowns, 395 yards, for an 82.5 percent completion percentage and QB rating of 190.2 against the number one pass defense in the country!
If he continues to play as he has, he is projected to throw for 21 touchdowns, just two interceptions, and over 3700 yards in the regular season alone.
To give you an idea of how good this is here is what Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, and Jimmy Clausen are projected to do this season against a much easier schedule:
Player Passing Yards TD INT Completion % QB Rating
Colt McCoy 3074 22 14 70 137.85
Tim Tebow 2064 16 4 65.5 164.63
Jimmy Clausen 3608 28 4 64.9 166.35
If the FSU defense was just an average defense, not even a good defense, FSU could likely have been 6-1 at this point and Ponder would be a Heisman candidate. I would also confidently state that I do not believe another quarterback in the country could do what Ponder has done given his supporting cast and against this schedule.
The only thing more exciting than Christian Ponder in 2009 is Christian Ponder 2010.
Thank you, Number 7, for being the bright spot on this otherwise dark season and giving Seminole fans everywhere a reason to watch.
Oh, and one more thing, if you don’t think Jimbo Fisher can coach then just look at what he has done with this kid who was projected to be a backup quarterback during the recruiting process.
"There are some great ones out there. I know. But I wouldn’t trade ours for anybody in America. Period. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody in America." - Jimbo Fisher
I couldn’t agree more. Thank you number 7.
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I love how the facts get changed to make a good story
Oh, and one more thing, if you don’t think Jimbo Fisher can coach then just look at what he has done with this kid who was projected to be a backup quarterback during the recruiting process.
Ponder coming out of high school was the 14th ranked pro-style QB in the nation by one service and 20th ranked by another that doesn’t make two QB lists (pro-style vs dual threat))with offers from Georgia Tech, UNC, Oklahoma State, Arizona, and TCU. Who did they project Ponder to be behind this year when he signed out of high school? With a redshirt year, the competition would be at worst open coming into this year. The surprise was last year, beating out Weatherford. D’Vo at the same stage was projected to end up at safety by many if not most when Ponder committed in July 2005, when Ponder enrolled in January 2006, Richardson had had a tremendous enough senior year to give thought that he’d compete at QB.
FSU didn’t sign another QB for two years after Richardson and Ponder. So who expected Ponder to be a backup QB his whole career?
Yahoo Sports was changing the facts to fit the story they wanted to tell with that article. Ponder was fully expected to compete for starting time this year when he enrolled in Jan 2006. The surprise was beating out Weatherford and Richardson last year.
by Wild@Heart Nole on Oct 23, 2009 2:45 PM EDT reply actions
opps
and being as good as he is. My comments are not meant to diminish Ponder’s or Fisher’s accomplishments. Ponder is a far better QB than he was expected to be, no question. I just question the perception he was expected to be another Marcus “Rooster” Outzen.
by Wild@Heart Nole on Oct 23, 2009 2:47 PM EDT up reply actions
I could understand that
in the fall of 2007, not when he was recruited, though FSU didn’t recruit another QB until EJ. So that’s saying that Bowden either thought Richardson would be the starter or he was expecting another freshman to start this year.
by Wild@Heart Nole on Oct 23, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions
He wasn't nearly as highly touted as Lee or Weatherford
Strange that a 4-star & 5-star end up as complete busts, but a 3-star is looking like a world-beater…
coaching coaching coaching coaching coaching coaching
"I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing, With a broken heart thats still beating, In the pain is the healing, in Your Name I find meaning, So I'm holdin' on.. holdin' on to you."
But who knows what the Jeff Bowden recruiting machine was planning.
They were probably going to pull a 5-star QB (because a recruiting service told them so) to take over the offense after Xavier Lee broke all the records and lead the team to back-to-back-to-back NCs. Then Ponder would have never seen the field.
I admit that was article is a little extreme
I think I just got a bit over excited from last night
"Fifty percent of the teams in country got beat last week" -BB
Florida State Football will never accept falling in the bottom half
However I do recall many people just before the 2008 season believing...
he could never hack it as a starter on a good offense
"Fifty percent of the teams in country got beat last week" -BB
Florida State Football will never accept falling in the bottom half
You don't have to tame your enthusiasm
He really has been THAT good and YES that much of a surprise. Besides that we read right here on TN a couple of weeks ago how Bowden felt that Ponder would be a “roster filler”.
haha thanks, I reconsidered my position from two perspectives
I see the point that given OUR unique situation he would have to be more than a backup
But in considering the question, “would he ever be more than effective backup?,” (i.e. could he be a starter in a program with QB depth?) the consensus was often NO he can’t be
I think the “projected backup” idea was from this second perspective
"Fifty percent of the teams in country got beat last week" -BB
Florida State Football will never accept falling in the bottom half
but
But in considering the question, "would he ever be more than effective backup?," (i.e. could he be a starter in a program with QB depth?) the consensus was often NO he can’t be
Depends on the program. Given the list of programs other than FSU recruiting him, I think he could have been a starter in those sorts of programs. I think the consensus was programs like TCU or Arizona, yes he could have been a starter, even if they a depth typical for those sorts of programs.
Had Ponder signed with FSU in the 90s? Yea, his qualifications out of high school would suggest in the 90s he would have been a backup type. To say he signed at FSU to be the backup is to say Richardson was expected to start this year and next after Weatherford/Lee. And Richardson didn’t rank on QB rankings I can find from 2006 (he was listed as an athlete, expected to end up at safety).
by Wild@Heart Nole on Oct 23, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
I can totally see your viewpoint
But Bowden, himself, said “we brought in Christian to be a program guy.”
You know, that really good scout team quarterback that lucks out and makes it to the second team and comes in when your first guy gets injured? And then the next year gets replaced @ the 2 spot because some new 5* came in to replace him?
Wild@—your argument just isn’t holding well. You are basing it on facts that are LARGELY based on the situation.
Drew and Lee were NOT supposed to be on the same eligibility schedule and Richardson had many more physical tools—at the time— than Christian did.
Ponder ended up the Quarterback because FSU messed up their recruiting—Jimbo Fisher and Ponder’s outstanding work ethic are why he is so great.
The fact that he we a starter last year had to do with the terrible succession plan; the fact that he is the starter this year goes back to his continued success in practice and on the field.
if I argued what i remember said at the time each was signed
then you would criticize me for other reasons.
The facts are FSU did not seriously pursue another QB the year after, Richardson was not recruited as a QB until late (safety was the initial reason), and FSU’s coaches have long praised their own system of the two year starter (junior and senior).
by Wild@Heart Nole on Oct 26, 2009 7:27 PM EDT up reply actions
But beyond that, if Bowden and Co expected him to be just a backup and then didn’t bring in anyone else, weren’t they negligent in their duties to the football team. Oh a career backup just signed so we wont take another QB next year, genius.
Believe me I am happy it worked out this way, Ponder is by far the player i get most excited about watching and i am very happy that it was JIMBO who really made him.
bowden negligent?
Hold on a second there. Did you just suggest Bowden & Co might be negligent?
Seriously, CP is the first NFL starting QB we’ve ever had at FSU. Hyperbole? I don’t think so. He has all the tools.
The football smarts – which is really the most important thing in the NFL. And I mean smarts across the board. Film study so that you mostly know what’s gonna happen before kickoff, the adjustments during the game for those things you didn’t mostly know, and no major mistakes. That may be the most amazing part to me so far in his season. Handling the ball in more than just a handoff on what? 80-90% of our plays and I remember one bad mistake (the fumble against BC where he was frustrated and trying to make a play). You can quibble about the other fumbles, but I remember just one (UM?) where he held the ball too long. The others weren’t really his fault. Sander’s completely whiffed on his blocks and the DE was there before he could even get set. The one pick was a little greedy for sure but was actually a very good calculated risk. Our wideout against UM’s safety one-on-one. You expect to win that.
He makes all the throws. The 3 TDs in this game are great illustrations: the perfect long ball, the dart at the goal line, and the lob to Reliford. My fear on that one was he was making it too easy to catch so that Reliford might drop it
Then the size, mobility and toughness. Ward, of course, didn’t have the size and Weinke was a statue.
Granted, he still has to do it. But he’s got everything the pros want.
I don’t disagree with any of your evaluations on Ponder’s talents, the multitude of them, people were discussing how Bowden believed Ponder would be a career backup, and no other qb was taken in the next year. If he truly believed that Ponder wouldn’t amount to much, and that’s an if I’m willing to hear both sides on, and they did not bring in another qb that would obviously be starting this year because weatherford and lee would be out, how could they not be negligent?
Thankfully we have a real coach in Fisher who recognized the talent that was in Ponder, and benched Weatherford. FSU would be even worse off now than it already is if that decision was not made.
I was being sarcastic in questioning your Bowden negligent comment. Obviously, since the NC, Bowden & Co have been negligent/inept in recruiting along with their other responsibilities we have discussed on here. Compare the O, where Jimbo/Trickett have replenished our depth in 2 yrs, and then there’s the D. You have to recruit a true QB (ie. in addition to athletes) every year to keep 3 Qbs in your pipeline at any one time w/ normal attrition. Bowden & Co completely botched up something that straightforward.
My comment on CP relative to the point of this thread is that I agree I don’t think he was this complete legacy recruit who was never expected to even compete for the job. On the other hand, I and, I would venture to say, pretty much no one else expected him to be this good. And you’re right. Thank God for Jimbo who was the first one to see he was this good, which I guess, imagine that, makes him a pretty good offensive football coach.
Nice job.
I was thinking about writing an official “Ponder for Heisman” post, but this will probably work.
The guy is now in the top 5 and top 10 in the country in many passing statitistic categories. There is no doubt in my mind that if FSU even had a winning record, he would be going to NY at the end of the year. However, people are beginning to notice Ponder despite our defensive ineptitude.
It's a beautiful thing to see a QB playing the defense like a violin
and just make them chase their tails. We haven’t seen a QB take over a game like that since Weinke.
Weinke
I don’t know, but I just never thought he was all that great; he had one hell of a team behind him.
Ponder just works with brute efficiency—every game he makes the reads/the throws…
I just never saw Weinke play @ that level.
Ponder is playing @ a level—as a TRUE QB (not CW)— that FSU hasn’t seen.
I still don’t know if he will be great in the NFL (though he plays better than Clausen, he hasn’t shown that Rifle Arm)… But as a QB—someone who knows what he can do and gets it done—I can’t say I’ve seen better @ FSU.
I hit the wrong button
That was one of the three
Playstation All American, right again! AKA The Vulture per Bobby Bowden
TomahawkNation
Better to bear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools
It is not easy being a voice crying in the wilderness
http://www.tomahawknation.com/2009/8/8/982324/fsu-saturday-practice-recap-and
In the future I am not going to be quite as accomodating to neophytes! LOL
May I quote myself?
Oh Yes!
"-Jimbo Fisher and some players have said this, but after two days of practice it seems true: Christian Ponder really does look different. Difficult to tell too much, of course, but Ponder is carrying himself better and his arm strength seems to have improved. He’s been throwing a crisp, tight spiral and it’s getting where it needs to go quickly. He looks good."
“This was always easy for me
About a year and half ago Fisher said Ponder will play in the NFL.”
I would give Bradford and McCoy the edge in experience & that translates also into accuracy
I would also give them the edge in supporting cast the last two years.
I would have to give Ponder the edge in arm strength, mobility and mental acuity. He also has two years left to play and they don’t."
Bradford
He has a good arm but not a great arm. He is not John Elway but will probably be the #1 pick next year. His body type also gives the impression a solid hit could end his career. He is however extremely accurate.
Don’t forget Bradford was the local hometown boy and a three star athlete slated to back up Bomar much like Ponder at FSU. He had a break out year last year with over 40 touchdown touchdown passes and he is certainly better than Jason White or Josh Heupel.
McCoy on the other hand has questionable arm strength and that is not really debated by many pro scouts. He once again is very accurate however.
If Bradford or McCoy had played behind the FSU line last year it is doubtful they would be discussed as elite quarterbacks. They might not even be alive as they are not as mobile as Ponder.
Let’s remember
Putting on pads has absolutely no effect on arm strength, accuracy and tight spirals. Lack of pass protection however can have a very deleterious effect upon it. We still have yet to see on game day what Ponder can do with pass protection. When you have to take off like a jack rabbit it doesn’t make your passing look that crisp.
I think it will be interesting to see just what type pro careers shape up between those 3 quarterbacks.
gahnki I would go by 3.7 GPA and graduating in 2 years at least until we see the wonderlic tests.
I wouldn’t take it for granted Bradford and McCoy are automatically slicker than our quarterback.
Former Eagle coach Buddy Ryan
"I like a smart quarterback a dumb one will get you beat every time!"
Bradfords first year
He accounted for 3126 yards with a pretty good cast around him and they lost to Colorado, Texas Tech and West Virginia.
Ponder accounted for 2429 total yards including his rushing in the first year ending a string of winning streaks by Clemson 3 and Miami 1.
If FSU were coming off a season having just lost to the above I would not be near as optimistic. We did beat Colorado.
I think it is safe to say Bradford’s starting tackles were not off a few months from the senior prom.
Colt McCoy threw for 2570 yards his first year. Texas was beaten by Texas A&m, Kansas State and Ohio State.
Neither quarterback did much better than Ponder in their first year and I think many would give Ponder a mulligan and a pat on the back for winning nine games under very difficult and extenuating circumstances which we should all be familiar with.
A lot of things can go wrong
When Shannon Boatman and David Overmeyer are your offensive line and Drew is your quarterback and nobody on the team can bench 400 pounds.
But this is not 2007.
I am somewhat being a devil’s advocate here
On the other hand I am trying to show there is really no empirical evidence as yet to show that Ponder cannot be an elite quarterback.
He has all the tools needed in comparison with aforementioned quarterbacks other than height and I think his mobility makes up for that.
As I have shown the others did not set the world on fire their first year and Ponder has variables in this equation which also favor him.
I can tell you that Charlie Ward and Peter Tom Willis were interception machines also their first year and I can remember telling friends and associates they would never be an FSU quarterback. Weinke struggled also. So I won’t make that mistake on Ponder.
It is my opinion that much of the pessimism here is a result of FSU falling from prominence as opposed to real attributes that could be associated with Ponder. Christian is going to do as well as his offensive line will allow him. That is basically the machine that drives an offense. It is like saying such and such driver is going to win the firecracker 400 with a volkswaggon engine installed in the vehicle.
It is a mindset that coaches are now in the process of eliminating from the players and I think they are well under way in this regard.
Fisher himself is changing the offense fairly drastically from what he used at LSU with Trickett’s zone blocking schemes. He is known as a coach who is very adept at using the talent on hand and fitting them with schemes.
At LSU remember he did not have final say on his offensive lines coaches and other assistants. He had to work around Lester Miles there and there is a substantial list of coaches who had problems doing that.
He is also very good at relaying such concepts to recruits as he has been a virtual recruiting machine since he has been at FSU. Once the program is back in the top 10 it will be rolling down hill from there.
Let us remember than in some circles Fisher was rated around the #3 offensive coordinator in the nation. Some of hoopla wore off the first year with a 7-6 record but last year bear in mind he was ACC offensive coordinator of the year. He probably will be again this year.
Some coaches have not gotten on too well with Nick Saban but it doesn’t seem to be the case with Fisher as he is quoted as saying "It would be hard to find anyone who knew more about football than Nick Saban. " The feeling seems to be mutual as Saban commented in regard to Fisher, "He has no weaknesses as a coach, none."
So for now it is all hearsay and opinions but the opinion I will go with is that of Fisher when he calls Ponder an NFL type quarterback. Fisher has been there and done that vaulting Jamarcus Russell into the number one pick and placing more quarterbacks in the NFL than I care to list at this point.
I think he knows quarterbacks better than anyone on this board and for now I will stick with his opinion on the matter. I also watch the games and it is very evident Ponder can thread the needle when he has an opportunity. I hope he has the opportunity to stand in the pocket this year and deliver the football.
I hate to call a big year for Ponder because it seems every time I do that something happens. I was adamant the Tavares Presley and Ty Jones would be a tremendous boost last year and both were injured. But I am still anxious to see how they do this year.
I will try and remember to shorten my responses.
Those who represent an ideal beyond the comprehension of the masses must face the persecution of the unthinking multitude who are without the divine idealism which inspires progress and those rational faculties which unerringly sift truth from falsehood. -Manly Palmer Hall
Playstation All American, right again! AKA The Vulture per Bobby Bowden
TomahawkNation
Better to bear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools
No doubt about it.
Ponder’s putting up some sick numbers. If he stays healthy and continues to improve, there’s no doubt he’s headed to the NFL.
wow thats sad, fixed now, better proof read next time
"Fifty percent of the teams in country got beat last week" -BB
Florida State Football will never accept falling in the bottom half
I remember . . .
taking note of Ponder at the 2007 Garnet and Gold game. He was running all over the field, mostly because the line wasn’t worth a damn and he had to scramble. But at least he was making some kind of a play unlike Lee or Weatherford, who were getting dominated by Kamerion Wimbley and Everette Brown. I told my friends afterward that he would be one to watch, and was really excited when he came in against Virginia Tech two years ago. I’m glad to finally see him playing up to his potential.
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