Is Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder playing his way into the NFL draft?

Before the season, few folks would ever have thrown Florida State QB Christian Ponder’s name into the mix of possible early-entries into the 2010 NFL draft.

But the redshirt junior, who is in his second season as the Seminoles’ starter and already has his undergraduate degree, is putting up the kind of numbers that might give him name recognition in April and make the draft tough to pass up.

“Obviously after the season, I’ll take an evaluation (from the NFL) and see what happens and make a decision after that,’’ he said. “I see myself playing here next year, but we’ll see what they say and what happens. There’s a chance of either way.’’

Through eight games, the dual-threat Ponder (who did bruise his ribs last weekend and may not be running as frequently or as effectively on Saturday at Clemson) is averaging 327.38 yards of total offense, which is third in Division I-A. His average of 306.63 passing yards is fifth nationally. He’s also 13th in passing efficiency. On Wednesday, he was named a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award, which goes to the nation's top player. (He was a late addition to the watch list last week.)

“I think he can do some great things in the future here,’’ offensive coordinator/QB coach Jimbo Fisher said breathlessly. “They keep talking about the hype and the season he’s had, that he’d be a Heisman guy and player of the year (candidate next year). He can be a phenomenal player … and put us back right on top, I really believe that. But if it’s best for him to go, I’ll be the first one to kick him out the door.’’

Individual honors would be nice, but it’s the possibility for team success that Ponder said is foremost in his mind. Now and, possibly, in the not-to-distant future.

“The biggest thing that would bring me back is we’d have a lot of potential next year as a team; I think we can get to that national championship level,’’ he said, adding that another dozen or so starts in 2010 would only help prepare him better for the NFL.

On that score, FSU coach Bobby Bowden would agree.

“Ponder, to me, is on the verge of being a celebrity and it’s according to does he want to try to climax that college experience or not,’’ said Bowden, who could be back for a final year in 2010 and would like nothing more than the chance to end on a high, something that’s more realistic with a veteran QB. “Everette Brown chose not to climax that; he could have been maybe the defensive player of the year … Knowing him (Ponder), I would think he was leaning on staying no matter what.’’