Hines Ward caught exactly 1,000 passes in a 14-year NFL career that ended with his retirement in 2011. Ward was a member of the Steelers' 2005 and 2008 Super Bowl champions. He was the MVP of one.
Before that, Ward was known for his versatility at Georgia. He started at quarterback, running back and wide receiver in his career and had 4,762 yards from scrimmage.
In high school, Ward was what one might expect. He was a member of the AJC's Super 11 team in 1993. He rushed for 2,500 yards and 29 touchdowns in his career. He passed for 3,581 yards and 38 touchdowns.
The only surprise is that Ward never won a playoff game in high school. In fact, he never played in one.
It wasn't his fault. Forest Park was 3-37 in the four seasons before Ward arrived. Then in Ward's four years, the Panthers had four consecutive winning seasons and were 27-13, the school's best stretch since 1968-71. Forest Park went on to win region titles the next two seasons.
Here are GHSF Daily's choices as the best players in the history of the Region 4-AAAAAA schools.
*Drew: Joseph Newman (2015)
*Forest Park: Hines Ward (1993)
*Jonesboro: Scott Woerner (1976)
*Lovejoy: Chris Scott (2004)
*M.L. King: Demarco Robinson (2010)
*Mount Zion (Jonesboro): Tony Mitchell (2001)
*Mundy's Mill: Rodney Smith (2013)
*Stephenson: Marcus Ball (2005)
*Tucker: Patrick Pass (1995)
Best player in school history series
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