Madison, WI
Chris Weinke gave up a pro baseball career and went on to win the Heisman Trophy. Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson wants to be next.
Weinke, a highly-regarded quarterback and baseball hitter coming out of high school, decided to spurn football scholarships to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays, who selected him in the second round in 1990.
However, after spending six years toiling in the minor leagues Weinke gave up his dream and enrolled at Florida State. He played four years there, winning the coveted Heisman Trophy in 2000 before playing five years in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers.
Wilson, a fourth-round pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2010, has the credentials to support an early-season Heisman campaign after taking a curious route to Madison, Wisc.
"My focus has been on our team and learning the playbook. It's (Heisman talk) nice but we have more immediate business," Wilson said.
The 5-11, 200 pound Wilson was a three-year starter at North Carolina State. He ranks third all-time there with 8,545 passing yards and second with 76 touchdown passes - third most among returning FBS quarterbacks - and second in conference history with 93 TD between running and passing.
In 2008, Wilson became the first freshman quarterback ever to win first team ACC honors (17 TDs, 1 interception), and he set an NCAA record with 379 passes without an interception between his freshman and sophomore seasons. He was a second-team ACC selection last year as a junior.
However, the minor league second baseman, who hit .228 with three homers and 15 RBI for Asheville in the Class-A South Atlantic League this summer, wasn't sure if he was going to return to the Wolfpack for his final season or play out the baseball season.
So NC State coach Tom O'Brien, who went through the same indecision with Wilson prior to the 2010 season, released the star quarterback from his scholarship so he could focus on preparing a new quarterback, thus freeing Wilson to fulfill his final season of eligibility with any team not on State's schedule.
Wilson insists he left the Rockies in good standing but needed to figure out what he wanted to focus on.
"I had to figure out first if I should stick to baseball," Wilson said. And should I give up that dream of playing in the NFL and hopefully winning a national championship and being part of something special,"
When Wilson made the decision to return to college football, he had a choice between Wisconsin and Auburn. Both schools had an immediate opening; the defending champion Auburn Tigers lost Heisman winner Cam Newton while Wisconsin lost Scott Tolzien, who led FBS in pass completion percentage with a school-record 72.9 percent.
"I would have been in a great situation either way (between Wisconsin and Auburn). But I'm excited to be a Badger."
Wilson feels he has benefitted significantly from playing college football and professional baseball.
"From my experience of playing big-time college football (in the ACC) and professional baseball (Class A), I really learned that you have to prepare mentally every single day. "How you go about your business is really important, whether it's on the field or off the field. I'm prepared to do all those things that are necessary to win and compete at the highest level."
And Wilson certainly has gone about taking care of business. In the first three games this season, lopsided wins against UNLV, Oregon State and Northern Illinois, Wilson is playing at another level.
The native of Richmond, Virginia leads the country with a 213.4 passer efficiency rating (100 attempts), completing 50-of-66 passes for 791 yards and eight touchdowns. His 12.0 yards per attempt is second in the nation and his 75.8 completion percentage ranks fifth.
In a 49-7 victory Saturday against Northern Illinois, Wilson threw for three TDs and 347 yards - the ninth Badger quarterback ever to throw for 300 yards and the first in three years.
As an offense, heading into this week's game with South Dakota before starting Big Ten play with Nebraska, the Badgers are averaging 506 yards per game, are fourth in the country averaging 7.6 yards per play. And in 19 red-zone attempts, Wilson has led the Badgers to 17 TDs.
Wisconsin has just one turnover - a Wilson interception on the last play of the Northern Illinois game - in its last 5 ½ games.
A strong runner as well as a prolific passer, Wilson added 37 yards rushing against Northern Illinois to post the fifth best total offense day in school annals.
Wilson had a 46-yard TD run in the opener against UNLV, and he ran for 1,093 yards and 17 TDs with NC State in three years.
"That is one of the things as a defensive coordinator, if you bring all that pressure, all he has to do is make one guy miss and then he is running for a while," Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema said.
Bielema wasn't sure how Wilson would fit in with what has been a run-first offense.
"I didn't know what to expect," Bielema said. "I've never been around him. I have only been with him for three games and nothing changed for him. Day-to-day his preparation is detailed, it is just all the same."
His preparation has turned into results. And who knows, maybe it will carry all the way to New York City, and Wilson will here his name called the second Saturday in December.
Twitter: @ihavenet
- Cincy Bearcats Rout NC State
- Tar Heels QB Bryn Renner Learns Not to Be Perfect
- Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson Trying to Follow in Weinke's Footsteps
- PAC-12 to Remain 12-Team Conference
- Big 12 Conference; Commissioner Dan Beebe Part Ways
- Syracuse Hoops Coach Jim Boeheim Laments Leaving Big East Behind
- Texas Quarterback Gilbert Out Remainder Of Season
- Michigan QB Shows Weaknesses Despite Being Dangerous With the Ball
- Tar Heels Football To Vacate Wins and Cut Scholarships
- Bruised and Battered Buckeyes Badly Beaten by Miami Hurricanes
- LSU Defense Thwarts Mississippi State
- Big 12 Teetering on Edge of Disintegration
- NCAA Hits Boise State with Probation
- Ohio State Lacking Depth with Injuries and Suspensions
- No. 2 LSU, third-ranked Alabama Romps Highlight Week Two
- Ohio State Survives Scare from Toledo
- Michigan State Piles Up Yards in Lopsided Win Over Florida Atlantic
- Arizona State Overcomes Late Surge Stuns Mizzou In Overtime
- ACC Considering Raising Buyout Amount If Teams Want to Leave Conference
- Legal Loopholes Hamper Texas A&M's Move to SEC
- Mistake-prone Oregon falls to LSU in Opener
- Michigan State Lineman Sets Ambitious Goals in Pursuit Of Big Ten Title
- SEC Presidents Set To Meet About Possible Texas A&M Move
Copyright © 2011 AHN - All Rights Reserved