Christian Ponder Christian Ponder ( born February 25 , 1988 ) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Vikings with the twelfth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft , and signed with them on July 31 , 2011 , shortly after the 2011 NFL lockout ended . He played college football as the starting quarterback for the Florida State Seminoles at Florida State University . Early years . Ponder was born in Dallas , Texas and grew up in Grapevine , Texas . His father , David Ponder , played college football for Florida State as a defensive lineman from 1980 to 1983 , and thus Christian Ponder is one of several father - son duos who have both played for Bobby Bowden , who coached the Seminoles until the end of the 2009 season . Christian Ponder attended Colleyville Heritage High School , where he played football . In 2004 , he was the starting quarterback and threw for 1 , 500 yards and seven touchdown s . As a senior , he passed for 2 , 214 yards and 20 touchdowns and rushed for 911 yards and 12 touchdowns . " The Dallas Morning News " named him to their all - district first team . Scout . com named him the 20th - ranked quarterback prospect , while Rivals . com rated him the 14th - ranked pro - style quarterback and the 50th - ranked college prospect from Texas . He received scholarship offers from Baylor , Florida State , Georgia Tech , Iowa State , North Carolina , and Texas Christian . College career . In 2006 , Ponder sat out his true freshman season at Florida State on redshirt status . In 2007 , he served as the back - up behind starting quarterback Drew Weatherford . Ponder saw action against Virginia Tech when Weatherford was taken out of the game due to an injury in the second quarter . Although Florida State lost , 40 – 21 , Ponder completed eight out of 18 passing attempts for 105 yards and one touchdown . Before the 2008 season , Ponder was named the starting quarterback ahead of senior Weatherford . " The Miami Herald " said that the decision showed the coaching staff put " a premium on mobility over maturity . " Ponder started in all 13 games , and completed 177 passes on 318 attempts for 2 , 006 yards , 14 touchdowns , and 13 interceptions . He also made 119 rushing attempts for 423 yards and four touchdowns . The Seminoles finished the season with a 9 – 4 record , including a victory over Wisconsin in the Champs Sports Bowl . At season ' s end , Ponder was named the team ' s most valuable offensive player . In 2009 , Ponder was well on his way to a career season when he suffered a season ending shoulder injury at Clemson . Through the first eight games of the season , he led the ACC in passing average per game and was one of the national leaders in yards and passing efficiency . He threw for over 2 , 700 yards and 14 touchdowns and considered jumping to the NFL a year early . However , after hitting Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel on an interception return , Ponder separated his shoulder and missed the rest of the season . This ended his professional hopes , at least for one year . He resumed his role as the starting quarterback in 2010 . Before the 2010 season , Ponder was named to the Maxwell Award watch list . Florida State launched a campaign promoting Ponder as a Heisman Trophy candidate in July 2010 . During the 2010 season , Ponder battled numerous setbacks to his health , including a swollen bursa sac in his throwing elbow . He re - injured the elbow numerous times during the season , and had to have it drained three times . The 2010 season , Ponder ' s senior year and only year under coach Jimbo Fisher , had seen the greatest amount of success for the quarterback . Ponder was the first Seminole quarterback since Chris Weinke in 1999 to lead his team to victories over both its in - state rivals , Miami and Florida . He also won the 2010 James Tatum award , given to the nation ' s top student - athlete , and a National Football Foundation Scholar - Athlete Award . Ponder graduated from Florida State in two and a half years with a degree in finance and a 3 . 73 GPA , then an MBA , and is studying for his second graduate degree , in sports management . At the 2011 Under Armour Senior Bowl , Ponder won MVP honors after throwing for 2 TD ' s and leading the South to a win over the heavily favored North . Professional career . Minnesota Vikings . Ponder was selected 12th overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft . Ponder announced in his introduction press conference that he intended to wear jersey number 7 in the NFL . He made his NFL debut against the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter on October 16 , 2011 . It was announced on Tuesday , October 18 , that he would make his first start the following Sunday against the Green Bay Packers . On Ponder ' s first career pass attempt as a starter he hit Michael Jenkins on a 72 yard play - action pass . Two plays later , he hit Visanthe Shiancoe in the end zone on another playaction pass . He finished the game 13 of 32 for 219 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs in the 33 - 27 loss . Ponder was able to get his first win as an NFL starting quarterback with the Minnesota Vikings the following week against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers on October 30 , 2011 . He threw for 236 yards and a touchdown , and had a passer rating of 102 . 7 . After a bye week , the Vikings faced off against the Packers again , this time on Monday Night Football at Lambeau Field . Ponder didn ' t perform as well as he did the first time around , and the Vikings were blown out 45 - 7 . He threw two touchdowns and three interceptions against the Oakland Raiders in a losing effort . Ponder began to struggle down the stretch of his rookie campaign , losing games to the Atlanta Falcons , and the Denver Broncos . In the game against the Broncos , he threw a crucial interception late in the fourth quarter to set up Tim Tebow and the Broncos for a game - winning drive . The next week , Ponder was injured in a game against the rival Detroit Lions at Ford Field . Backup quarterback Joe Webb nearly brought Minnesota to a victory . After a loss to the NFC South champion New Orleans Saints , Ponder was injured in each of the final two regular season games , at the Washington Redskins and in the season finale against the Chicago Bears . Ponder finished the season throwing 13 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions . In the 2012 season through his first five games , he threw for 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions . Ponder would lead the Vikings to the playoffs that year with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions . 2012 Playoffs . Ponder did not play in their 10 - 24 loss against the Green Bay Packers on January 5 , 2013 , due to a deep tricep bruise . His backup Joe Webb took his place . Personal life . Ponder married ESPN reporter Samantha Steele on December 17 , 2012 .