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Christopher Jon Weinke is a former professional American football and baseball player. After spending six years in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league baseball system, he enrolled at Florida State University at the age of 26, and played quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles. He thereafter played professionally in the National Football League, where he spent most of his career with the Carolina Panthers.
Weinke played minor league baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays farm system from 1990 to 1996, advancing to class Triple-A, before deciding to attend Florida State University. Head coach Bobby Bowden had initially recruited Weinke when he was a prep quarterback in 1989 at Cretin-Derham Hall High School. After quitting baseball, Weinke called Bowden, and Bowden offered him a scholarship with 1997 recruiting class. After arriving he quickly distinguished himself as a starting quarterback, leading the team to victory in the 1999 National Championship. In 2000, at 28, he became the oldest person to receive the Heisman Trophy. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 2001 NFL Draft, where he served mostly as backup quarterback until being released in 2006. He then spent one season with the San Francisco 49ers before leaving the NFL after the 2007 season.
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