Winovich dancing his way at Michigan

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Until this season, Chase Winovich wasn’t an everyday starter at Michigan. Until last year, he didn’t play defensive end.

This fall, though, Winovich, a Thomas Jefferson graduate, is one of college football’s top sackers, and he has a chance to break Michigan’s record for sacks (12) in a season.

You can thank ballet for that.

During the offseason, Winovich — a redshirt junior known for his blonde mane and affable, quirky personality — took ballet, jiu-jitsu and boxing classes, which he credits in part for his growth on the gridiron.

Winovich, who’s a big fan of the UFC and especially Conor McGregor, said he appreciated how MMA fighters control opponents’ bodies and use their momentum against them — skills that he now deploys against opposing blockers. The footwork he honed as a

translated to his own pass-rushing abilities, while boxing has given him the skills to throw a blocker’s hands off him.

“I always respected ballerinas and dancers,” said Winovich, clarifying, “Not saying I’m the best dancer.”

His mother, Nina Winovich, was amazed to learn that her son had taken up ballet. At 6-foot-3 and 253 pounds, her son is “a little bit bulkier” than she expects most ballet dancers to be.

“It helped him with his footwork and balance,” she said. “I definitely think it helped. … He’s doing better each game.”

This season, Winovich has averaged a sack per game, tied for No. 6 in the country, and was named Walter Camp national player of the week on defense and Big Ten co-defensive player of the week after recording eight tackles and 2.5 sacks against Purdue last month.

“He’s a nightmare for an offensive line because his motor never stops,” Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. “He’s always trying, always going hard.”

The ballet and jiu-jitsu are the latest surprise in Winovich’s long journey from Thomas Jefferson to one of the country’s best college defenses.

Back in the eighth grade, Winovich had just told his guidance counselor that he wanted to play professional football — and the counselor had responded by noting his very low chances of making the NFL.

Shortly thereafter, Winovich was walking down the concrete steps outside of his house to catch the bus when he slipped on a garbage bag and hit his head on the concrete, fracturing his skull and causing a subdural hematoma. Blood poured out of his left ear, the result of a ruptured ear drum, and he was lifeflighted to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, Nina Winovich said.

His football career in doubt, Winovich somehow managed to recover quickly enough to play football that fall.

A broken hand shortened his freshman season, but he clawed back again. At Thomas Jefferson, he thrived as a linebacker and quarterback, and he also was a mainstay on the basketball team. His grandmother, Grace Winovich, had a tradition that continues to this day:

“I give him $5 each game, and he’s not allowed to get hurt,” she said. “And I always make sure he has candy bars.”

When Winovich arrived at Michigan as a linebacker, he faced additional challenges. He found the transition to dorm life and the rigors of college football difficult, and he lost weight. After redshirting freshman year, he was moved to tight end and special teams, and suffered other injuries. Despite the zigzagging path, Winovich, who studies evolutionary anthropology, said he never doubted he could play.

“I tried to be realistic with myself,” he said, “but realism’s kind of boring sometimes.”

Then, last year, he got his chance to move back to defense, this time as a defensive end behind eventual first-round draft pick Taco Charlton.

“The first play out there felt like freedom,” he said.

It has been a good fit, and Winovich was able to adjust to the position, putting on more weight improving his speed. Winovich, whose brother, Peter, played for Bowling Green, is one of three WPIAL-groomed starters on No. 17 Michigan (4-1), along with defensive back Khaleke Hudson (McKeesport) and offensive lineman Patrick Kugley (North Allegheny).

Winovich said he has always been a “chip-on-theshoulder person.” Nina Winovich said her appropriately named son has always been “possessed, determined,” recalling that he leaped over a railing around the family’s deck as soon as he could jump.

“I should’ve named him ‘Walk,’” she said, “because then maybe I would’ve gotten a little bit more rest.”