For Ward’s Football Career, It’s a Case of the Shorts

At one point this fall, only the Democrats were having a tougher time than New York quarterbacks. Boomer Esiason and the Jets’ offense rolled sevens instead of scoring them. Giants Coach Dan Reeves went back and forth and back again with Dave Brown and Kent Graham.

The quarterback topic sizzled on the sports talk shows and screamed across the back pages of the tabloids. The subject even ventured inside the New York Knicks’ locker room, of all places.

Knicks guard Doc Rivers sized up the situation and came to a conclusion. Graham, Brown, Boomer ... the answer was all so simple. “The best quarterback in New York,” Rivers said, “is Charlie Ward.”

Charlie Ward. In a period of time when college football’s most famous award is being handed to the wrong players for the wrong reasons, Ward was a deserving landslide winner last year. He pushed Florida State through a demanding schedule and to the national championship by playing bigger with each game.

Then he became the only non-military Heisman Trophy-winner to pass unselected through the NFL draft.

For the first autumn that he can remember, Ward isn’t on a football team, although you can argue the Knicks come close enough. They selected him in the first round, they’ve invested nearly $5 million in Ward over the next five years, and they’re counting on Ward being their point guard -- their quarterback -- of the future.

If all goes well in basketball, Ward will never play in the NFL. If that is what fate has in store for Ward, he will accept it, even if others can’t. “I didn’t know what I’d be doing after I finished college, to tell you the truth,” Ward says, in a voice that’s nothing more than a whispered mumble. “I knew I’d be involved in sports, because the Lord has blessed me with athletic talent. Whether I was headed to football or basketball, I couldn’t control. I only knew I was going to make the best out of whatever situation I landed in. That was something I could control.”

The bypassing of Ward is still being debated. There are theories and reasons and excuses, but the bottom line is this: When the mighty NFL scouting machine consumed all of the vitals about Ward and belched its verdict, Ward wasn’t considered an attractive pro prospect.

Ward’s agent, Eugene Parker, says three-fourths of the NFL expressed interest. Some were more serious than others. All were represented when Ward held a one-day workout. And every team, while impressed with Ward’s mechanics, had reservations.

There was mention of his arm, the same limb that threw for 3,032 yards, 27 touchdowns and only four interceptions as a senior. There were whispers that Ward’s arm wasn’t strong enough, although you notice young NFL quarterbacks like Rick Mirer dumping off to running backs and throwing a lot of 10 yards-and-out passes these days.

The offensive set used at Florida State was questioned. When Ward became the starting quarterback in his junior year, he threw nine interceptions in his first three games. He didn’t flourish, the pro scouts say, until the Seminoles switched from a pro-set offense to a shotgun formation with extra wide receivers. However, that system isn’t obsolete in the NFL.

What about race? Ah, yes. Race. The days of exclusionary tactics against black quarterbacks seemingly are over. At least, that’s the popularly held belief. Yet, former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson suspects the color of Ward’s skin did play a part in his evaluation by NFL teams.

“There’s still a stigma that blacks ... can’t figure out sophisticated pro-style offenses,” Johnson says. “It’s a tragedy that Charlie Ward wasn’t drafted. And don’t give me that bull about how he was thinking of playing in the NBA.”

Then there was the most popular strike against Ward, which had nothing to do with color, arm strength or elaborate offensive schemes.

“I can’t speak for the rest of the league, but my impression was that his height was a major, major factor,” says Jets General Manager Dick Steinberg, who says he was a Ward fan. “That’s a non-correctable negative.”

Although the Knicks list him at 6 feet 2, Ward measured a shade over 5-11 for the NFL. Apparently, that was a few shades short. The league has always favored the 6-3-and-up quarterback, the kind who could remain in the pocket and see above defensive linemen, over smaller quarterbacks who often must roll out or pass between defenders.

“I don’t know of any quarterback playing in our league who’s under 6 feet,” Steinberg says, matter-of-factly.

But a few days after Steinberg made those comments, the Cincinnati Bengals’ season experienced a pleasant turn when they switched to Jeff Blake, who stands 5-11 and who played the previous two seasons for the Jets.

Ward’s face displays a weary expression when he’s asked about the days leading up to the NFL draft. “I heard a lot about what I could and couldn’t do,” Ward says. “For a person who proved himself at the highest level in college, I sure heard a lot of myths. I’m not one to be real big on excuses. I never use them myself.”

When Ward wasn’t taken in the first round, his exclusion from the rest of the draft became a matter of economics. Knowing Ward could expect to command nearly $1 million guaranteed annually as a first-round pick in the NBA -- a salary that’s about three times what lower NFL picks earn -- football backed off.

He could have gone to the Canadian Football League, like Doug Flutie, another Heisman winner whose height made him an outcast, but Ward never gave it serious thought.

Instead, less than a month after being snubbed by the NFL, Ward switched to wearing baggy shorts and a tank top. Pro football became a dead issue. “I figured I’d put it to them the way they put it to me,” Ward says.

Ward was at first mostly a curiosity to NBA folks. Ward played only one complete basketball season at Florida State, and that was a throwaway freshman year. Football commitments bit into his final two seasons, during which Ward played only 34 games.

That inactivity made him a hard read for NBA scouts. Their preliminary report on Ward was favorable, but mostly incomplete. He displayed solid poise as a leader, an obvious carryover from football. The Atlantic Coast Conference provided good competition, which included Duke’s Bobby Hurley. Ward’s decision-making didn’t encourage many mistakes. He had quick hands, which helped him finish as the school’s career leader in steals. His outside shooting was average at best and there were times when Ward would bypass open shots.

“He first caught my eye in his junior year,” says Ernie Grunfeld, the Knicks’ vice president and general manager. “He seemed always under control. There were some flaws, but he never went through the normal preseason regimen. So that actually fell in his favor.”

Ward had one month to convince scouts that he was worthy of being taken in the draft’s first round, where the money was guaranteed and a place on a roster almost assured.

He made the all-tournament team at the Phoenix Desert Classic, the most influential NBA combine. He followed that with thumbs-up efforts in the United States Basketball League and the NBA’s annual pre-draft camp in Chicago and during private workouts with individual teams.

“Charlie made really good strides in the All-Star venues,” Grunfeld says. “You could see his game improving steadily. That was impressive for a guy who played basketball only three months out of the year. And every time he played in those pre-draft camps, his teams always seemed to win, and that was impressive, too.”

It wasn’t a particularly strong draft for point guards. There was Jason Kidd, but few others. Ward played his way into the pack and then it became only a matter of taste for NBA teams.

On the surface, the Knicks didn’t have a pressing need for a point guard. During the course of the season, they received veteran Derek Harper through a trade. He would have been named MVP of the NBA Finals had the Knicks beaten the Houston Rockets. Greg Anthony, their top pick three years ago, was the backup, ahead of Doc Rivers.

But Anthony was erratic; the Knicks have been trying to trade him since the season ended. Rivers underwent reconstructive knee surgery at 33.

They also had a pair of late first-round picks, which put them in a perfect position to gamble. So with the 24th pick they selected Notre Dame forward Monty Williams, a capable scorer who had been treated for a heart problem, and then took a Heisman winner at 26. In his first official news conference as an NBA player, Ward asked reporters: “No football questions, please.” None were asked.

He was moderately successful in his first NBA test. Ward emerged as the MVP of the New York summer league. He showed 3-point shooting range and an ability to distribute the basketball, the two skills of his that were most questioned.

From there, Ward went to the Knicks’ fall training camp and his improved passing drew praise from Coach Pat Riley, who also said Ward “has to take a step up defensively.”

When the season began, Ward, as expected, was cemented to the end of Riley’s bench, a victim of numbers and seniority. Neither the Knicks nor Ward are pressed for time, however. He is still learning the game and the Knicks are giving him the necessary time and tutoring.

“I have the ability to do what I want to do,” Ward says. “Even though others might not believe in me, I’ve never doubted myself as an athlete. When I do, I might as well give up.”