KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke added another honor to his legendary career this week when he was announced as one of 11 inductees for the 2019 Florida Sports Hall of Fame class.
Weinke, who won a national championship in 1999 and a Heisman Trophy in 2000 as a player at Florida State, is entering his second year on the Volunteers’ staff after coaching running backs in 2018.
The 2019 Florida Sports HOF enshrinement ceremony will take place on Nov. 12 at the Amway Center in Orlando.
Before coming to Rocky Top in 2018, Weinke was the quarterbacks coach for the Los Angeles Rams for two seasons and spent five years as the program director at IMG Academy, where he worked with some of the nation’s top high school football recruits and trained several NFL players.
He also worked as an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2017, helping lead the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Weinke enjoyed a seven-year NFL career from 2001-07, playing with the Carolina Panthers (2001-06) and the San Francisco 49ers (2007). The Panthers drafted Weinke in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft with the 106th overall pick.
The St. Paul, Minnesota, native is perhaps best known for his remarkable career at Florida State, playing for the legendary Bobby Bowden from 1997-2000. Weinke owns the Seminoles’ career records for passing yards (9,839), completions (650) and touchdown passes (79) and his 14 games with 300 or more passing yards are tied for the most in FSU history. He played in 36 games and his 32 wins as a starting quarterback are the most in Florida State history. He was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame in 2011 and has his jersey retired by the school.
As a senior in 2000, Weinke won the Heisman Trophy, Johnny Unitas Award and the Davey O’Brien Award after leading Florida State to the ACC title and an 11-2 record. He threw for an FSU record 4,167 yards and a then-record 33 touchdowns, while completing 61.7 percent of his passes in 2000. At 28, Weinke became the oldest player ever to win the Heisman Trophy.
As a junior in 1999, Weinke led Florida State to a perfect 12-0 record, capping the year with a 46-29 win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl to give the Seminoles the BCS National Championship. He threw for 3,103 yards and 25 touchdowns and completed 61.5 percent of his passes during Florida State’s championship run.
Weinke was a 1989 Parade magazine and USA Today first-team high school All-American at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul. He was also an all-state baseball player and in 1990 he was drafted in the second round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft (No. 62 overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays.
He signed a professional contract with Toronto and played in the minor leagues before leaving baseball in 1996.
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