DE: ‘I had to make something happen’
DeLattiboudere continues training through pandemic
The University of Minnesota’s football pro day was less than two weeks away, and Winston DeLattiboudere III was preparing for an important workout that could raise his stock ahead of the NFL Draft and the undrafted free-agent process that follows.
However, the Gophers’ pro day, which was scheduled for March 25, was canceled due to the coronavirus, and the former Howard High School football star turned Division I defensive end had a hectic next few weeks — an 18-hour car ride back from Minnesota, training during a global pandemic and filming his own pro day.
“It was tough,” DeLattiboudere said. “If you know football, you know about the pro day. It’s something you’re waiting on your whole life. Even when you play Madden, you tap the ‘X’ button to run the 40-yard dash. I felt like I was in the best shape of my life, and then it was kind of stripped away.”
Once DeLattiboudere — a Baltimore Sun and Howard County Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2014 — learned the pro day was canceled, he had to make the trek back from the Twin Cities to Howard County. He stopped in Michigan to spend a night with his girlfriend, listened to music, called friends and thought about his football future.
“I got in the car and drove home to kind of filter and process what my next move was going to be,” he said. “It’s not over when others say it’s over, so I knew I had to make something happen.”
During the ride, he called two of his old high school teammates — Christian Dargan about Isaiah Stokes — to ask if they’d help him train when he got back home and then help with his makeshift pro day.
After training for about 10 days on the grass fields at Howard High School, DeLattiboudere got approval to use the Lions’ turf field for the pro day while abiding by social distancing guidelines.
“Your loyalty shows in your friendships when the chips are down and your back is against the wall, and those guys really helped me out,” he said. “We were drilling everything. Isaiah would work with me every day with speed stuff, and Christian would help me with the drill stuff and body position stuff that I had been working on. We ran it all by ourselves, and we got somebody out there to film it. There were four people out there so we could comply by the rules.”
Bruce Strunk, DeLattiboudere’s high school coach, said “it was really good to see” Dargan and Stokes helping DeLattiboudere train. At his pro day on March 29, DeLattiboudere ran a 4.78-second 40-yard dash, a 6.96-second L-cone time and a 4.31-second pro agility time as well as a 78.75-inch wing span.
“That’s one thing about Winston. If you’re friends with him, you’re friends for life,” Strunk said. One of the sad parts of me moving up to Massachusetts is I don’t get to see guys like Winston, Christian and Isaiah.”
Strunk, who coached nine years at Howard, said he still keeps in contact with DeLattiboudere and that he saw most of his games on the Big Ten Network.
In his senior season at Howard, DeLattiboudere led No. 5 Howard to a 12-1 record and its first state semifinal appearance since 1999. The Lions allowed only 7.5 points per game in 2014 and pitched five shutouts as DeLattiboudere tallied 101 tackles, including 42 for a loss, and also had 17.5 sacks and 38 quarterback hurries.
“It’s been great to watch him grow,” said Strunk. “His work ethic is why Winston is where he is — his work ethic, his coachability, his character. He’s all the things you want in a player. The maturity level is high. He’s going to do things right. He’s got it all.”
After redshirting his first season at
Minnesota, DeLattiboudere went on to play in all 51 of the Gophers’ games in his four seasons, starting 35 of those contests and tallying 83 tackles — 13.5 of which for a loss — and five sacks. As a senior, the 6-foot, 2.5-inch, 255-pound defensive end started all 13 games, recorded 30 tackles and forced two fumbles.
He also won the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and the Tony Dungy Character and Community Service Award.
“The scouts have told me that I’m a reliable football player,” he said. “I played 51 games in the Big Ten and started 35 of them. You don’t just throw anybody out there to play in the Big Ten. Now, the scouts are trying to see how much I can improve on an athleticism platform. I have the IQ for it, and I can play multiple positions, but during this process they’ve just wanted to see how much faster and quicker I can get.”
One question mark for DeLattiboudere is what position he’ll play at the next level. He says he’s open to playing defensive tackle, defensive end and outside linebacker. Most of his experience is as a defensive end, which is the position he played in both high school and college. But his size (6-2.5, 255 pounds) pegs him better as an outside linebacker at the NFL level, which is why he’s been practicing the technique at that position this offseason.
“I’m working on my speed and the outside linebacker drills,” he said. “I had to work on things like my back pedal and things that are natural for linebackers. But if you drill something enough, you can definitely get it down.”
With the NFLDraft starting on Thursday and ending Saturday, DeLattiboudere is waiting for the process to play out. While it’s still to be seen whether DeLattiboudere will be a Day 3 draft selection or an undrafted free agent signee, he doesn’t care how he gets to the NFL or what position he’s asked to play — so long as he gets there.
“I’m taking everything one day at a time. I’m projected seventh round/priority free agent,” DeLattiboudere said. “Whatever team calls, I’m ready to play special teams and defensive end. If they want meto put on 30 pounds and play defensive tackle, I will. If they want me to drop back and play outside linebacker, I will. And if they want me to scrub the tables after the team is done eating lunch, I’ll do that, too. I am ready to get with a club and seize my potential and the ability I have.”