TCU football’s Dee Winters explains why he stayed amid coaching change
TCU linebacker Dee Winters likely would’ve had a number of schools interested in him if he wanted to transfer amid the coaching change from Gary Patterson to Sonny Dykes.
Winters had a team-leading 74 tackles last season and ranked second on the team in tackles in 2020. But he has opted to stay in Fort Worth for his senior season under the new staff.
“The reason why some guys left is because the defense didn’t fit them,” Winters said earlier this spring. “But the reason I stayed was to pick up my brothers. We had some guys stay, so I wanted to be a part of that and be something great.”
Winters said the idea of playing under defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie was intriguing, too, given his success running a 3-3-5 scheme compared with Patterson’s signature 4-2-5 defense.
“I know Coach Gillespie coached at Tulsa and they’ve had a great defense the past few years,” Winters said. “So I wanted to see what that was like, and widen my variety of defenses that I’ve played in. Playing in a two-man linebacker box, playing in a three man, so that can give me better options in the future.”
Winters touched on a number of other topics during an interview session following one of TCU’s spring practices last month. The Horned Frogs are entering their final week of practices with the spring game set for 7 p.m. Friday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
On the biggest change: “Going from a two-linebacker defense to a three-linebacker defense. It’s a lot easier because we have less responsibilities, but the fits are also different. So that kind of wavers in our benefits, but it’s also kind of difficult mentally. We just try to come out and get better every day at that and hopefully it will become comfortable for us.”
On learning from Gillespie: “It’s way different. I’m more of an all-around linebacker now, not just mostly coverage. Now we work on shedding a lot, so that’s been really helpful and is something I’m adding to my toolbox.”
On his role: “I don’t think it has changed at all, to be honest. Just to go out there and lead the guys, give them some encouragement to go out and be great. That’s what we do every day.”
On the defense being faster, more instinct-based: “Oh yeah, definitely. The defense is made to play fast. That’s exactly what we’ve come out here to do. Just come out, play hard, and give it all you’ve got. Run to the ball.”
On Gillespie: “Cool guy. Very upfront. He’s going to be real with you. He’s going to give you tough love. Going to be honest with you. That’s all you can ever ask for from a coach.”
On the linebacker corps: “Since Garret Wallow (left following the 2020 season), this is probably the best linebacker group that we’ve had. We’ve got over 20 linebackers. Transfer from Navy (Johnny Hodges), Jamoi [Hodge], Terrence Cooks. All those guys are adding to our linebacker chemistry.”
On the energy around the team: “It’s been fantastic. The first day we came out and guys were kind of holding back, not empyting the tank, because we didn’t know what to expect from practice you know. We hadn’t done it before. I think this second go around we had a lot more energy. We knew when to empty the tank. Just come out and practice hard and fly around.”
On team accountability and buy-in to the new staff: “Accountability is probably the biggest thing they’ve been teaching us since they’ve been here. That’s what we’ve got to be able to do.”
On the change and what this experience has been like: “It’s way different. Like Noah [Daniels] said, it’s more professional. They handle us like grown men. Treated more business-like. That helps us out, gives us the right head space so that we know when we come here we’ve got to work. It’s a business, so that’s really good.”
