By SCOTT REYNOLDS
FOXSportsFlorida.com Contributor
Jan. 29, 2011
Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder was hoping to show NFL scouts at the 2011 Under Armor Senior Bowl that his injury-riddled collegiate career was behind him.
Mission accomplished.
After a good week of practice, which earned him the starting nod for the Senior Bowl, Ponder put on a show Saturday afternoon in Mobile, Ala. and was named the game's MVP after helping the South squad get out to an early 10-0 lead in his team's 24-10 victory.
Ponder didn't wait around to make an impression. He threw a 49-yard bomb into the wind to Miami wide receiver Leonard Hankerson on his first pass of the game.
On the same drive, Ponder scrambled for eight yards and a first down, then picked up three yards and another first down on a QB sneak on third-and-1 down to the North 2-yard line. But after two incompletions, the South had to settle for a field goal to go up 3-0 with 9:57 left in the first quarter.
On his second series in the first quarter, Ponder threw an 18-yard touchdown to Hankerson, perfectly placing the ball on his outside shoulder to put the South up 10-0. Ponder completed 5-of-9 passes for 94 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions in the first half.
In the second half, Ponder threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to TCU wide receiver Jeremy Kerley off a pump fake to push the South's lead to 24-10 with three minutes left in regulation. He finished the Senior Bowl 7-of-13 passing for 132 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. He also had four carries for 17 yards.
"Obviously, I didn't have the senior year that I wanted, and there are a lot of questions surrounding me," Ponder said. "It's just a heck of an opportunity for me. It's something where I couldn't shy away [from playing in the Senior Bowl]."
The questions surrounding Ponder actually first arose more than a year ago.
Ponder was having a very good junior season in 2009, completing 68.8 percent of his passes for 2,717 yards with 14 TDs and seven INTs over his first eight games. But then a promising season
