Anyone out there remember Brandon Weeden? The Yankees made him their top draft pick in 2002, a second round pick they received from the Cardinals as compensation for the loss of Tino Martinez. His career in the Yankees organization lasted 60.2 IP and a little more than a year; he was traded to Dodgers as part of the package for Kevin Brown after the 2003 season. Injuries and ineffectiveness set in, and Weeden’s baseball career was over after 2006. That’s when he went back to college, and walked on at Oklahoma State and is now the Cowboys starting quarterback.
Tom Spousta of The NY Times checked in with the former Yankees farmhand, who is in the running for the Heisman Trophy this year, at age 28. “The opportunity was too good, and baseball was always my thing,” said Weeden, who said he grew up a Yankees fan in Oklahoma. “The day I signed the contract, I remember thinking, if this doesn’t work out, then I’ve always got college football. My goal was to make it to the big leagues the entire time, but unfortunately it didn’t work out.”
