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Florida State alum Christian Ponder named his daughter after Bobby Bowden

Brace Hemmelgarn / Reuters

Former Florida State standout and current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder certainly must have liked his time in Tallahassee more than his time in Minneapolis given the success he enjoyed on the field at each stop.

Ponder's wife, Samantha, an ESPN college football reporter, delivered the couple's first child earlier this month, and their creative juices were certainly flowing during the naming process.

ESPN's Ben Goessling explains:

They named their little girl Bowden Sainte-Claire Ponder - the middle name is the same as Samantha's, while the first, of course, pays homage to retired Florida State coach Bobby Bowden - and they plan to call her "Scout," after the young narrator of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." Christian Ponder said his wife contacted his old college coach and arrange a surprise congratulatory phone call after the baby was born. 

It's a lucky thing for the newest member of the Ponder family that Christian didn't play his college ball at Northern Illinois while Jerry Kill was coach of the program.

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