NEW YORK -- Chris Weinke's age didn't matter -- his sensational season did.
|  | | Chris Weinke threw for 33 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions. He's the ACC's career passing leader with 9,839 yards. |
The 28-year-old Florida State quarterback capped a remarkable
back-to-school story Saturday night, winning the Heisman Trophy in
one of the closest votes in the history of the award.
In the final weeks before his name was called, Weinke's age became a huge issue, one that even worried the quarterback.
"If people wanted to leave me off the ballot because they didn't think I was the best player, that's OK," Weinke said after becoming the oldest player to win the Heisman in the 65-year history of the award. "But don't leave me off because I'm 28. It's
too bad those things have to come up."
Weinke, who spent six years playing minor league baseball before
returning to school in 1997, finished off a record-setting season
by leading the Seminoles into an Orange Bowl matchup against No. 1
Oklahoma with a chance for a second straight national championship.
"With apologies to Lou Gehrig, I feel like I'm the luckiest man
in the world," Weinke said, his voice catching with emotion at
times during his acceptance speech. "I got to pursue two dreams.
The first one, baseball, didn't work out the way I would have
liked. But the second one, football, did."
The 6-foot-5, 229-pounder from St. Paul, Minn., led the nation with a school-record 4,167 yards passing, threw 33 touchdown passes and had only 11 interceptions. He recovered from a serious neck injury late in the '98 season to become the Atlantic Coast Conference's career passing leader with 9,839 yards.
Weinke edged Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel for college
football's most coveted individual prize by 76 points in the
seventh tightest Heisman race. The closest Heisman vote was Bo
Jackson's 45-point victory over Chuck Long in 1985.
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Close Calls
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This year's Heisman Trophy voting was one of the closest in years. A look at
other close contests:
1985 -- 45, Auburn's Bo Jackson edges Iowa's Chuck Long 1509-1464.
1961 -- 53, Syracuse's Ernie Davis over Ohio State's Bob Ferguson,
824-771.
1953 -- 56, Notre Dame's John Lattner slips past Minnesota's Paul Giel,
1850-1794*.
1989 -- 70, Houston's Andre Ware edges Indiana's Anthony Thompson,
1073-1003.
1956 -- 72, Notre Dame's Paul Hornung over Tennessee's John Majors,
1066-994**.
1964 -- 74, Notre Dame's John Huarte over Tulsa's Jerry Rhome, 1026-952.
2000 -- 76, Florida State's Chris Weinke edges Oklahoma's Josh Heupel,
1628-1552.
1978 -- 77, Oklahoma's Billy Sims edges Penn State's Chuck Fusina,
827-750.
1962 -- 89, Oregon State's Terry Baker over LSU's Jerry Stovall,
707-618.
* - Chicago's Jay Berwanger defeated Army's Monk Meyer by 55 in 1935 but
vote totals of 84-29 were considerably smaller.
** - Hornung's margin over third place finisher Oklahoma's Tom McDonald, was
93 (1066-973), the slimmest margin between first and third place.
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Weinke had 369 first-place votes and 1,628 points; Heupel, who
led the Sooners to the title game against the Seminoles by passing
for 3,392 yards and 20 touchdowns, had 286 first-place votes and
1,552 points.
"I don't think age should have been a factor to determine it -- it's for the best college football player in the country," Heupel said.
Oklahoma running back Billy Sims was the previous oldest winner, receiving the 1978 award at 23.
Purdue quarterback Drew Brees was third, followed by TCU running
back LaDainian Tomlinson and Northwestern running back Damien
Anderson in voting by 796 of the 922 eligible Heisman voters.
A breakdown of the voting showed Weinke won four of the six
regions -- the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, the South and the Midwest.
Heupel won the Southwest and the West.
When his name was called, Weinke, wearing a black suit and
silver tie and sitting next to Heupel, smiled, stood up and walked
to the podium to accept the 25-pound bronze trophy.
"I don't think I've ever been this nervous," Weinke said. "I was talking to Josh and LT and we all said we weren't nervous, but he stood up to read the results everyone said their heart started pounding."
In Tallahassee, Fla., the Seminoles were having their annual
awards banquet, and a crowd of 2,500 watched on TV as Weinke won
the Heisman.
"There was simultaneous screaming and applause when they heard 'Chris,"' Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said by phone. "None of us heard 'Weinke."'
Over the past six weeks, Weinke's age became a Heisman issue even though voters are simply asked to cast their ballot for the "Outstanding Football Player of the United States." Some voters indicated they would leave Weinke's name off the ballot because the quarterback's age gave him an unfair advantage over his younger rivals. Voters list their top three choices, with a first-place vote worth 3 points; second place 2 points; and third place 1 point.
"It would be a travesty if age kept him out," Bowden said in
the final days leading up to Saturday night's announcement at the
Downtown Athletic Club.
The "travesty" was avoided when Weinke finished with 83 more
first-place votes than Heupel.
"Success in college football is not about age but about
experience," Weinke said. "Had I stayed at Florida State when I
was first recruited in 1990, I might not have played a down.
"People in this area know about Charlie Ward. Who would have thought that seven years apart two guys who were recruited together would both win the Heisman Trophy."
Ward, now a point guard for the New York Knicks, won the award in 1993.
When the season began, it was surprising Weinke was still around
because even his coaches thought he was off to the NFL. However,
Weinke decided to stay, saying he wanted to win another national
title, work on improving his game and finish off his degree -- he
graduates Dec. 16 with a 3.4 grade-point average in sports management.
The Heisman race was one of the most competitive in recent
years. In the first few weeks, Weinke was among a handful of
Heisman contenders, with Heupel an afterthought -- at best. Virginia
Tech quarterback Michael Vick was the front-runner, but when he
sprained an ankle and was unable to play much in the Hokies' loss
to Miami, Weinke moved into the favorite's role.
Heupel, though, was rapidly climbing the list. The lefty's pinpoint passing in dominating wins over Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska in consecutive games catapulted the Sooners into the No. 1 ranking for the first time since 1987.
Weinke, meanwhile, was piling up amazing numbers. Even in the
Seminoles' only loss -- 27-24 to Miami on Oct. 7 -- Weinke threw for
496 yards and three TDs despite playing with a sprained left foot
protected by a hard plastic covering.
And in Florida State's biggest game of the season -- against
Florida on Nov. 18 -- Weinke came down with flu-like symptoms but
still passed for 353 yards and three TDs in a 30-7 win. The victory
clinched Florida State's spot in the Bowl Championship Series'
title game against Heupel's Sooners.
Weinke's strong finish was in contrast to Heupel's shaky close.
After throwing for 949 yards with four TD passes and just one
interception against the Longhorns, Wildcats and Cornhuskers,
Heupel failed to break the 300-yard mark in any of his last four
games. He was battling an inflamed bursa on his throwing arm, but
said the injury did not affect his performance.
Weinke, who twice this season threw for more than 500 yards to help boost his record as the Seminoles' starter to 32-2.
Vick was sixth, followed by Miami wide receiver Santana Moss, Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo, Oregon State running back Ken Simonton and Auburn running back Rudi Johnson.
The last four quarterbacks to win the Heisman played for a team
from the state of Florida -- Weinke; Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1996); Ward;
and Gino Toretta (Miami, 1992).
The journey to Heisman fame was a long one for Weinke. He was a
1990 Parade All-American, showed up at Florida State for four days
and then signed a $350,000 contract with the Toronto Blue Jays
organization. But Bowden wrote and told him if he ever wanted to
return just give a call and a scholarship would be waiting.
Six years later, his lone baseball claim to fame was being the
first baseman when NBA great Michael Jordan got his first hit in
the minors. Discouraged about his chances of making it to the major
leagues, Weinke's interest in football returned.
True to his word, Bowden gave Weinke a shot, and the Seminoles passed on signing Drew Henson.
In '98, Weinke got his break -- starter Dan Kendra injured his
knee before the season and was out for the year. In his second
start, Weinke threw a school-record six interceptions in a 24-7
loss to North Carolina State.
He didn't throw another interception in his next 218 attempts, then was knocked out for the year in the Virginia game with a serious neck injury that required surgery. Weinke didn't practice again for 10 months and went through the '99 season with a protective brace.
Last season, despite distractions from a midseason shopping scam by teammates Peter Warrick and Laveraneus Coles, Weinke drove the Seminoles to a perfect 12-0 record and Bowden's second national title.
Now he's close to winning another one for the Seminoles, and
he'll get a chance to do it as the Heisman Trophy winner.
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2000 Heisman Trophy Voting
VIDEO
  Chris Weinke wins the 2000 Heisman Trophy. Watch the entire ceremony here. RealVideo: 28.8 Club President William J. Dockery announces the winner of the 2000 Heisman Trophy. avi: 1710 kRealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 ESPN's Chris Fowler sits down with this year's Heisman winner Chris Weinke. avi: 1020 kRealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1  Florida State's Chris Weinke accepts the Heisman Trophy. wav: 394 kRealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 |
