Another season, another position for BGSU’s Mr. Versatility, Pete Winovich.
As a freshman, Winovich was a contributor on the Falcon special teams before moving to linebacker last year. Now, in his junior season, Winovich finds himself as a fullback on an offense that’s lost some serious weapons.
“At first I was kind of skeptical because with the team running a spread offense I didn’t know where a fullback necessarily fit but they worked some things out and we can open up,” Winovich said.
Winovich recorded 27 tackles last season, two of them for a loss. Against Ohio he was able to make eight tackles, six of which were solo. In 2004, he recorded nine.
“We wanted to add a little bit to our offensive package, we thought Pete was a kid that was athletic enough and we talked to him about moving over and giving it a try and he was very receptive to it,” said running backs coach Dennis Springer.
Since coming to BG, Winovich has been all over the depth chart. His freshman year he was listed as a quarterback/tight end and appeared in every game on special teams. Last year he was put at linebacker and appeared in every game once again. If he gets snaps this year at fullback then he will have appeared in all three facets of the game during his career for the Falcons.
“It seems like every time I get comfortable I switch positions, its just fun though,” Winovich said, smiling. “Every time I come in here its like where am I going to play next?”
During high school, Winovich was no stranger to versatility. He started at quarterback and linebacker for three seasons at Thomas Jefferson High School in Jefferson Hills, Pa. He put up impressive numbers at both positions during his career.
“That definitely helped; not too many high school quarterbacks got to play middle linebacker on defense,” Winovich said. “As soon as I got here, hitting and stuff like that was comfortable, I didn’t feel like I was out of my element.”
He set school records with 2,233 passing yards and 20 TDs and amassed a 30-5 record as a starter. Winovich was also first-team all-state one year on defense as well. He collected 144 tackles over the course of his career.
“We noticed that he was a physical player in high school and they played him at a lot of different positions so we knew he was going to be a versatile player,” Springer said. “So it was just a matter of finding the right spot for him once he got here.”
Although he has yet to become a high-profile player, the versatility that Winovich has displayed should not go unnoticed. Versatile college players frequently become valuable assets at the next level. Joshua Cribbs, a former quarterback at Kent State, now returns kickoffs for the Cleveland Browns. Matt Jones of Arkansas was also a quarterback until being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars and molded into a receiver.
Springer does not think versatility is the only thing in Winovich’s favor, but it’s certainly a plus.
“You never know what those guys want, but Pete’s a kid who works as hard as anybody on the football field and if that day comes then there’s no question [versatility] will help,” he said.
