Chris Weinke can relate to what Greg Paulus is going through right now. Before the former Florida State quarterback won the Heisman Trophy in 2000 and long before he played in the NFL for six seasons, Weinke was a standout high school football player who chose professional baseball over Saturday gamedays.
After six years in the minor leagues, Weinke left the diamond for the gridiron. He still felt an urge to play football, and even though the transition was difficult, Weinke said he would advise Paulus to follow his instincts back to the football field.
"It was a dream of mine to play big-time college football, and I made a decision at the age of 18 to go in a different direction-but that dream never left me," Weinke told The Chronicle. "The one question that people ask me is, 'Would you do it over again?' And I say, 'Yes I would.'"
That doesn't mean the switch from another sport to football is easy, especially after a long hiatus. Weinke, Drew Henson and Quincy Carter, three eventual NFL quarterbacks, all played baseball, but Weinke said the hurdles a basketball player might face would be similar.
The mindset is different. The preparation is different. The physicality and competition are different, Weinke said.
In a practice his freshman year, Weinke watched a linebacker tee up a running back and found himself surprised by how hard college football players hit each other. He had forgotten what it was like to take a hit and be sore for the next three days, which he found to be one of the toughest parts about moving back behind center.
What pushed him through was an unflinching commitment to looking forward.
"I told myself before I made the decision that I'm going to have to be 100 percent dedicated to wanting to do this," Weinke said. "If there's any inkling of doubt in your mind, you're not going to be successful."
Henson played college football for the University of Michigan before skipping his senior year in 2001 to play in the New York Yankees' farm system. He returned to football in 2004 and caught on with the Dallas Cowboys, where he struggled to maintain his college form at first.
"I'd say it took me close to 12 to 18 months to feel like I had my mechanics and drilling like I felt like I had in college, or close to it," Henson told the Detroit Free Press Monday. "And that was with the offseason and practice and the full season."
If he returns to the football field, Paulus won't have the luxury of more than a year's worth of practice. His first season will be his last one, and teams are already done with spring practice. Weinke said it would have been "very, very tough" to start in his first year away from the diamond.
Still, he feels the point guard should follow his heart if it leads him back to playing quarterback.
"If there's talk that he wants to do it, then in his mind, he wants to do it," Weinke said. "And I say, try to live out your dreams."
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