Weeden wants focus on No. 2 Cowboys, not his age

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) ? For Brandon Weeden, all the interest in his age is starting to get old.

The 28-year-old quarterback got a lot of Heisman Trophy chatter over the weekend when he threw for 423 yards and five touchdowns in Oklahoma State?s victory over Texas Tech while Stanford?s Andrew Luck and Boise State?s Kellen Moore both lost for the first time this season.

Weeden just wishes less of the attention was on how old he is. Weeden played five years of minor league baseball after high school, then started his college career at Oklahoma State. He said people have posted complaints on Twitter and he?s frequently peppered by questions about his age when someone new interviews him.

?On the ballot, there?s not an age requirement. It?s stupid. I?m so sick of hearing about it,? Weeden said. ?It?s one of those things. People need to find some new material. It?s getting old real quick.?

Weeden?s second-ranked Cowboys (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) head into Friday night?s game at Iowa State as one of only three undefeated teams left in the country, along with No. 1 LSU and No. 11 Houston. He has piled up 3,635 yards and 31 touchdowns with nine interceptions at the helm of the nation?s second-highest scoring offense.

?There?s just so many other questions you can ask other than being 28 years old,? Weeden said. ?Why can?t we talk about (All-American receiver) Justin Blackmon or the team winning games? That?s way more important than me being 28 years old.?

Weeden?s age is certainly a factor, though.

Coach Mike Gundy has repeatedly said he considers Weeden?s maturity to be a positive for his team since he?s been through the ups and downs of the minor leagues and doesn?t get rattled easily. He also lives a different life than most college athletes. He is married and lives off campus, and he is financially stable, thanks to his baseball contract.

Weeden has also graduated and his course load is light. He?s taking golf as one of his classes.

None of that makes him ineligible to win the Heisman Trophy.

Florida State?s Chris Weinke set the precedent for an older player winning the Heisman when at age 28 in 2000. No one else has been older than 23 at the time they won the award.

?I think he?s got an advantage being 28. ... There was some people that thought he was too old to play, so now it?s kind of going the other way on him,? Gundy said. ?Until they rewrite the rule, I would say that everybody is fair game.?

According to research by STATS LLC, Weeden is one of at least 17 Bowl Subdivision players who are at least 25, though not all schools provide players? birthdates in their media guides. Weeden even has a 26-year-old teammate in Tyler Johnson, a linebacker who also joined the Cowboys after a stint in the minor leagues.

There?s at least one player older than Weeden this season: Buffalo punter Peter Fardon, a 29-year-old senior from Australia.