Florida State University

Chris Weinke won Florida State's second Heisman while leading the Seminoles to a berth in the BCS title game. At age 28, he is the oldest player to win the award.

Heisman Winner

Chris Weinke

QB | Senior | Florida State University

Weinke won Florida State’s second Heisman while leading the Seminoles to a berth in the BCS title game. At age 28, he is the oldest player to win the award.

Weinke was born and raised in St. Paul, Minn. where he attended Cretin-Durham Hall High and was a three-sport star. He played first base for the baseball team, quarterbacked the football team and was the captain of the ice hockey team. As a 1989 senir, he was a Parade magazine and USA Today first team All-America selection, was named Minnesota’s prep football player of the year, and was seen as the top senior quarterback in the country. Weinke was recruited by over 70 Division 1 schools, including Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Florida State, Illinois, Minnesota, Miami, Washington, and Wisconsin, but ultimately signed a national letter of intent and committed to play quarterback for Florida State. He was part of the same recruiting class that included 1993 Heisman winner Charlie Ward.

But his football career got put on hold as the 6-5, 230-pound Weinke was drafted in the 2nd Round of the 1990 Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft (the 62nd player taken overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. After spending four days in August 1990 on the FSU campus, Weinke signed a contract to play in the Blue Jays’ minor league system. FSU head coach Bobby Bowden promised Weinke that he would always have a scholarship offer if he wished to return.

Weinke spent several years in the minors before returning to FSU in 1997 at age 25. After serving as a backup as a freshman, he took over the starting job as a 1998 sophomore and passed for 2,017 yards and 17 touchdowns as he led the Seminoles to a 9-1 record and a No. 2 national ranking before a neck injury knocked him out of the rest of the season. As a junior, he quarterbacked FSU to a wire-to-wire finish as the No. 1 team, culminating in a win over Virginia Tech in the BCS title game. He threw for 3,103 yards and 25 scores as the Seminoles captured their second national title.

As a senior in 2000, Weinke led the nation in passing with 4,167 yards and won the Heisman Trophy as well as the Davey O’Brien Award and the Johnny Unitas Award. He also led the Seminoles to the Orange Bowl for their third national championship game in as many years, where they lost 13–2 to the Oklahoma Sooners.

Weinke finished his Florida State career with a 32–3 record and held numerous FSU records including most passing yards in a career and most career touchdown passes. In 2001, Weinke became the seventh Seminole (and second quarterback) to have his jersey retired. He also graduated with a degree in Sports Management and was a two-time ACC All-Academic Team selection.

Weinke was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2001 NFL draft. He played with the Panthers and the 49ers before retiring. He eventually moved on to a coaching career, taking a job as the quarterbacks coach for the St. Louis Rams.

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Heisman Voting Results

Number of electors: 922 - Announced: December 9, 2000.

 PlayerClassPositionSchool1st2nd3rdTotal Points
1Chris WeinkeSRQBFlorida State369216891628
2Josh HeupelRS SRQBOklahoma2862901141552
3Drew BreesSRQBPurdue69107198566
4LaDainian TomlinsonSRRBTCU47110205308
5Damien AndersonSRRBNorthwestern62043101
6Michael VickRS SOQBVirginia Tech7143483
7Santana MossSRWRMiami392855
8Marques TuiasosopoSRQBWashington581041
9Ken SimontonJRRBOregon State151225
10Rudi JohnsonJRRBAuburn31920

Three points are awarded for first place on a ballot, with two points for second place and one point for third place.

Heisman Voting By Region

Heisman voters are spread out across six regions, with roughly 145 per region.

South

 PlayerPoints
1Chris Weinke310
2Josh Heupel255
3LaDainian Tomlinson97
4Drew Brees84

Northeast

 PlayerPoints
1Chris Weinke305
2Josh Heupel263
3LaDainian Tomlinson111
4Drew Brees94

Mid-Atlantic

 PlayerPoints
1Chris Weinke308
2Josh Heupel240
3LaDainian Tomlinson87
4Drew Brees83

Midwest

 PlayerPoints
1Chris Weinke246
2Josh Heupel220
3Drew Brees171
4LaDainian Tomlinson55

Southwest

 PlayerPoints
1Josh Heupel330
2Chris Weinke231
3LaDainian Tomlinson129
4Drew Brees83

Far West

 PlayerPoints
1Josh Heupel244
2Chris Weinke228
3Drew Brees104
4LaDainian Tomlinson87

Statistics

Chris Weinke’s Heisman Season Stats

DateOpponentResultAttCompPct.YardsYPATDIntRatingRushesYardsYPCTDPlaysTotal OffYPPTotal TDs
8/26/00BYUW 29-3503264.03186.3620130.627-15-2.140573035.322
9/9/00at #17 Ga. TechW 26-21382565.844311.6620181.082-20.0004044111.032
9/16/00North CarolinaW 63-14221254.526211.9140214.584-19-4.750262439.354
9/23/00LouisvilleW 31-0291862.12217.6213116.773-9-3.001322126.632
9/28/00at MarylandW 59-7151173.323415.6030270.375-200.0002021410.703
10/7/00at #2 Miami (FL)L 24-27582950.04968.5532132.01000.000584968.553
10/14/00DukeW 63-14473778.753611.4051205.371-9-9.0004852710.985
10/21/00VirginiaW 37-3281657.12749.7921155.772-8-4.000302668.872
10/28/00at North CarolinaW 58-14211361.91858.8110151.62000.000211858.811
11/4/00#16 ClemsonW 54-7432762.852112.1220179.925-12-2.4004850910.602
11/11/00at Wake ForestW 35-6362363.93249.0052174.211-3-3.000373218.685
11/18/00#10 FloridaW 30-7442352.33538.0232133.07000.000443538.023
Heisman StatsBCS #2, AP #311-143126661.741679.673311163.0930-97-3.23146140708.8334
1/3/01+ #1 OklahomaL 2-13512549.02745.370286.31000.000512745.370
TotalsCoaches #4, AP #511-248229160.444419.213313154.9730-97-3.23151243448.4834

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Chris Weinke Heisman winner FSU Quarterback
Chris Weinke Heisman winner FSU Quarterback
Chris Weinke Heisman winner FSU Quarterback
Chris Weinke Heisman winner FSU Quarterback
Chris Weinke Heisman winner FSU QB
Chris Weinke Heisman Trophy FSU Quarterback