Hines Ward

Hines Ward, Jr. (March 8, 1976, Forest Park, Georgia) is an American football player who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is half-Korean and half-black.

Ward played in college for the University of Georgia, where he played some at tailback, some at quarterback, and some at wide receiver. This versatility has served him well as a professional wide receiver as he is very talented at "selling", and at executing, trick plays. He provided contrast to the Steelers former featured receiver, Plaxico Burress, as he is more of a "possession" receiver who usually catches short- and medium-length passes, whereas Burress was more of a "deep threat" who is usually thrown long passes well down the field (twenty yards or more). Burress recently signed a free-agent deal with the New York Giants.

A second Steelers' wide receiver is Antwaan Randle El, another former collegiate quarterback with talents remarkably similar to those of Ward. Both are somewhat similar to late 1990s Steeler Kordell Stewart, another former collegiate quarterback who was nicknamed "Slash" because of his ability to play quarterback/running back/wide receiver; Stewart eventually came to chafe at this role and demand to be played at quarterback only, which was granted for a while but led to friction to between Stewart and Steelers' coach Bill Cowher and is one of the reasons for Stewart's no longer being with the Steelers (another being a general lack of effectiveness when moved into the role as quarterback only).

In contrast to this, Ward and Randle El have shown less resistance to being played out of their collegiate position and seem to understand that it has enhanced their professional careers; they are regarded as somewhat "blue collar" players in the working class city that Pittsburgh is in contrast to Burress, who was regarded in some circles as more of a talented prima donna. The three of them consititued what was almost universally regarded as one of the top corps of wide receivers in the National Football League in 2004, although Buress has now left the Steelers.