Georgia football: Bulldog fans’ five favorite players, besides Herschel Walker

4. Hines Ward – Wide receiver, running back and quarterback

When thinking of some of the greatest wide receivers to play at Georgia, Hines Ward is for sure near the top of that list.

Best known today as a wide receiver, Ward signed with Georgia as one of the best high school quarterbacks in the nation. Too great of an athlete to stand on the sidelines while Eric Zeier played his last season, head coach Ray Goff moved Ward to running back where he rushed for 425 yards as a freshman.

Ward moved to wide receiver prior to the 1995 season, but as injuries mounted on offense, Ward had to spend time at receiver, running back and even quarterback. One of the biggest highlights of Ward’s career was the 1995 Peach Bowl against Virginia where he set the school bowl record for passing yards in a bowl game with 413 yards, completing 31 of his 59 passes.

Ward finished the 1995 season with 1,369 yards of total offense. Most of his yards came threw the air. He completed 69 passes for 872 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

After 1995, Ward finally settled into the receiver position and he wound up finishing his career at Georgia with 144 receptions, 1,965 receiving yards, and 16 total touchdowns. Hines earned first-team All-SEC honors in 1997.

Ward’s career didn’t stop in Athens though as he went on to be drafted in the 3rd round by the Pittsburgh Steelers where he would play for his entire professional career of a total of 14 seasons. During his time with the Steelers, Ward won two Super Bowls, claimed Super Bowl MVP in 2006 and played in the Pro Bowl four times.