3 things to know about Patriots defensive end Chase Winovich
"One thing led to another. We went on a date."
Good Morning Football needed a correspondent to provide some insight as players prepared for the 2019 NFL Draft. The NFL Network show turned to the prospect they deemed the top personality on the board: Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich.
Winovich obliged, joking that he was the only member of the correspondents’ clique in high school — “I’ve been preparing for this for a while.” He appeared on a subsequent show wearing workout attire inside a hair salon, the sole salon he lets touch his luscious blonde locks.
The New England Patriots selected Winovich in the third round of the draft (No. 77 overall). The selection had less to do with his colorful personality than his All-American abilities, and it certainly wasn’t because of his mane. Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio lauded Winovich’s motor, instincts, technique, size, speed, and toughness.
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“And he’s got long hair, which I’m sure everyone will enjoy until we tell him to cut it,” Caserio said Friday.
Here’s what you need to know about the new member of the New England defense:
Winovich was a scout team tight end at one point in college
Last season, Winovich earned All-American honors with the Wolverines, compiling 69 tackles — 17 for loss — and five sacks. The year before, his stats were even better: 77 tackles — 18 for loss — and eight sacks. However, those heights were a far-off dream during his first two years on campus.
Winovich entered Michigan as a linebacker after playing both that position and as a Wildcat quarterback at Thomas Jefferson High School in Penn. He struggled to gain weight as a freshman, then switched to tight end when coach Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2014. Winovich spent his sophomore season on the scout team.
He finally cracked the defense in his third year on campus, after an offseason spent taking ballet lessons.
“I’m willing to do what other people aren’t. Maybe they’re embarrassed or don’t have the resources, but this winter I took a ballet class,” Winovich told the Dayton Daily News at the time. “Probably took 20 or so lessons with an instructor down the street, which I think helped me agility-wise and with balance.”
The 6-foot-3, 256-pound ballerina thrived as a defensive end in his final two seasons for Michigan. Winovich added 20 pounds of muscle after plenty of after-hours sessions in the weight room. In 2017, he played alongside Canton-native Maurice Hurst Jr. and tallied more sacks than the current Oakland Raider starter.
At the NFL Combine in March, Winovich posted a 4.59-second 40-yard dash and a 4.11 second shuttle time. If he had any contact with New England at that event, or any other, he kept it close to the vest.
“I didn’t have too many interactions with the Patriots, but I did have some,” Winovich said after the draft. “It was in a relatively limited capacity. I’d rather just wait to dive into that further until I receive further instructions on how much information I can share.”
The Patriot Way, already.
He once went on a date with Madonna’s daughter
During his time in Ann Arbor, Winovich wanted to reach out to fellow University of Michigan student Lourdes Leon. He found her email and sent her a message, telling the Queen of Pop’s daughter that he was trying to join the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
“One thing led to another. We went on a date,” Winovich told The Rich Eisen Show. Asked whether he actually intended to switch majors, Winovich said, “I was considering it at the time. I wasn’t very good.”
As the Patriots’ pick tells the tale of the date — a tale multiple NFL teams asked for during his pre-draft interviews — Leon remarked that the appetizers looked good. So Winovich ordered every starter on the menu. Then he performed a magic trick he had seen on television, snapping his fingers together to spark a flash explosion.
Leon was awed, but unfortunately for Winovich, she wanted to see it again. He was all out of the powder that had caused the spark.
“I can’t. That’s not how it works,” he recalled telling her with a laugh.
The date did not spark a relationship.
He has big plans for his off-the-field endeavors
Winovich clearly lives an eventful life off the field. He struck up a friendship with UFC star Conor McGregor, who called him a “long-haired, staunch m*****f*****” in his thick Irish brogue. He met President Donald Trump on the golf course, then played video games with Trump’s son, Barron. And he dined on a live fish as a kid.
“I was real into Bear Grylls at the time,” Winovich said Friday. “Twenty dollars at that point in my life was a lot of money, so I did it.”
He noted that he coughed the fish up because of the taste of the blood, but did get the $20.
Winovich, it should be said, has put his colorful personality to more-charitable use as well. For the 2018 Outback Bowl, he dyed his hair orange to raise awareness, and money, for the ChadTough Foundation. The organization funds pediatric brain cancer research and spreads awareness of the type of tumor that took the life of Chad Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.
The defensive end hoped to raise $15,000 with the hair-dye fundraiser. He raised more than $200,000.
Winovich’s hair was back to blonde when he received his phone call from the Patriots. He answered the call from a Massachusetts number — “Doing better now that I’m talking to you coach” — then celebrated with his friends and family. Then, the latest member of the Patriots defensive line posted a photograph of him shaking hands with fellow Michigan man Tom Brady.
“See you soon!” Winovich wrote.
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