Dee Winters has gone from a one-gas-station town to one of TCU’s best defenders
Dee Winters didn’t have much to say when asked about growing up in Burton.
“There’s only one gas station,” Winters said. “There’s not a lot.”
That’s understandable for a town with a population of 560, according to the 2018 U.S. Census data, located off Highway 290 between Austin and Houston.
But Burton can take pride in Winters these days, who has become one of TCU’s top defenders. The sophomore linebacker tied for the team lead with seven tackles in TCU’s 34-18 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday and has the second-most tackles on the team this season (38).
Winters won the starting middle linebacker job alongside senior Garret Wallow in training camp. He emerged as the top linebacker from a number of players, including LSU transfer Marcel Brooks.
“Getting the job was pretty hard,” Winters said. “Garret has treated me like a little brother and helped me out which is really good. I battled it out and eventually came out on top to battle next to Garret.”
Winters has proven worthy of the ‘starter’ label, consistently ranking among TCU’s top tacklers each week. He opened the season with an eight-tackle game against Iowa State, and had another eight-tackle performance against Baylor two weeks ago.
He followed the Baylor game with his seven-tackle day, including 2.5 tackles for loss, against Tech. He had one tackle for loss against Baylor, which came on his first sack of the season.
As a true freshman last year, Winters played in 11 games, including two starts, and finished with 28 tackles, including one sack.
Pretty impressive for a three-star prospect coming out of Burton. Winters played on both sides of the ball in high school, but was utilized primarily as a wide receiver.
He joins a long list of players under Gary Patterson who shined as offensive players in high school before becoming defensive staples in college. Former Frogs linebacker and current Green Bay Packers defender Ty Summers was a quarterback in high school. Former Frogs defensive end and current Buffalo Bills pass rusher Jerry Hughes played running back in high school.
Winters described the transition as “kind of crazy,” given what TCU coaches see and are able to develop in a high-school prospect.
“They can see potential in you on defense if you play offense and that role is very huge, especially at TCU because we’re a defensive-minded team,” Winters said. “Just having that mentality is very good.”
TCU (3-3) travels to West Virginia next Saturday.
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
