Former Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson (left) works out in front of IMG Madden Football Academy Director Chris Weinke during a training session. Weinke, the former FSU and NFL quarterback is an instructor at the IMG Academies in Bradenton. (COURTESY OF JOHN DORTON/IMG ACADEMIES)
Chris Weinke knows a thing or two about winning.
As a quarterback with Florida State, he led the Seminoles to an undefeated season and a national championship, along the way winning the Heisman Trophy. Now days, the 39-year-old is working as the director of the IMG Madden Football Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he works with college players looking to improve their fundamentals as they prepare to make the jump to the NFL.
He is currently working with Russell Wilson (Wisconsin), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State) and Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M) as they get ready for the NFL Draft in April.
I talked with Weinke about the program as well as what he believes the modern college player needs to know before making that next big step forward.
Q: How long have you been working at IMG?
CW: “Since we launched the program, about two years.”
Q: Why coaching college players?
CW: “I was interested in coaching and this opportunity came up because I was familiar with it. I trained here as a player coming out of college. … It was a perfect fit for me, just the opportunity to work with kids all the way up to NFL guys, so like I said, I’ve been here a couple of years and things are going well.”
Q: Do you have aspirations of being a head coach in the college ranks?
CW: “Yeah, if the right opportunity presents itself, I mean, I feel pretty fortunate where I am at.”
Q: What sort of things do you work on with the players?
CW: “Each guy is a little bit different. I’m familiar with the guys and seeing film and evaluating them throughout the year so each guy is a little bit different. Really, it’s sharing some knowledge, some experience that I’ve had. Some of the things that have went well and some of the struggles that I have faced. The approach they are going to have to take and how its different at the NFL then it is in college. Working not only on the physical side, in terms of fine-tuning their skills, but also the mental side and so collectively, it’s preparing them for the next level.”
Q: You worked with Cam Newton and Christian Ponder last season, correct?
CW: “So, Cam Newton and Christian Ponder both came down here. For those guys, it was some minor tweaks in their mechanics and a lot of time spent in the classroom watching film.”
Q: What have you learned working with players such as Newton and Russell Wilson?
CW: “It’s obviously a coach-player relationship. It’s my responsibility to understand and know what I have to do to maximize their potential and so like I said, every guy is a little bit different. From a physical standpoint to a mental capacity standpoint, I take each and every individual and approach it separately. What I’ve found is players keep getting bigger, stronger, faster and more talented every year. The game continues to change and the players continue to change and the speed of the game continues to get faster. That’s part of my philosophy, not only do you have to be physically sound but you have to be able to process the information and be able to play up to that speed of the game.”
Q: What are some of the biggest hurdles these players will face as they prepare for the next step?
CW: “Every player coming out of college has some things to work on. Regardless of how talented that you are, the transition from college to the NFL is never easy. From top to bottom, you take a guy like Russell Wilson, the guy is just a winner. He’s proven that, in his situation, he’s able to have success at N.C. State in one offense, and then transfer to Wisconsin, learn an offense, in essence, in 21 days. And then have great success at Wisconsin. He has the ability to learn a new offense and have success in it. Here’s a guy who threw 33 touchdowns and only four interceptions in an offense that he’s never played in before. With that being said, this whole process from once the college season is over until the draft, is simply scouts and different teams trying to find what’s wrong with the players and so my job is to try and minimize the negatives and continue to focus on the good things.
“From a physical standpoint, people are going to say Russell is too small. Well, what I say is turn the film on and watch the guy play. He played, in essence, behind one of the biggest lines in the history of college football, with guys averaging 6-5”, and was still able to have great success. Sometimes their football IQ is questioned and sometimes their physical ability is questioned so we fine tune them and get them prepared.”
Q: What sort of wisdom do you impart on your players from your time in the NFL?
CW: “We talk about different stuff every day. To me, it’s about understanding what it means to be a pro and what does that really mean? For me, it’s really hoping these guys, and trying to educate these guys that it’s a job and there is only a limited number of spots in the NFL and really your mindset must be that you are going to be consistent.
