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Don Brown on Chase Winovich’s NFL outlook: ‘There’s no one who will give more, compete harder’
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Chase Winovich has the skill set to be successful in the NFL. His combination of speed, size and strength is why the New England Patriots selected him in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft.
While the Patriots are hoping Winovich will become a star on the defensive side of the ball, Winovich’s former defensive coordinator Don Brown believes that the former Michigan lineman has a high ceiling.
“There’s no one who will give more, try harder, or compete harder than he will,” Brown told the Boston Sports Journal. “He has a tremendous skill set, and I think the ability to show some positional flexibility will be good for him. He could rush the passer or play the run game from a defensive end position, or as an outside linebacker.”
Winovich became one of the top defensive lineman in the B1G during his time at Michigan and formed a tremendous duo with Rashan Gary up front. From his sophomore year through his senior season, Winovich tallied 44.5 tackles for loss and 18.5 sacks.
Most of Winovich’s career at Michigan was spent on the defensive line, but he could change positions in the NFL. New England might want to use him as a linebacker, considering his speed and ability to locate the football.
Brown doesn’t see the position change as a problem for Winovich, and says the reason he was on the defensive line with the Wolverines was because of his effectiveness at chasing down quarterbacks.
“I get that it’ll probably be more as an outside linebacker in the pros. We didn’t ask him to do that al that much,” Brown said. “My thing as defensive coordinator? The more he was chasing the quarterback, the better off we were.”
Winovich was thrilled to get the opportunity to continue his football career and says he’s willing to play whatever position the Patriots need him to fill.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB