The 49ers selected linebacker Dee Winters out of TCU with their lone sixth-round pick in this year’s draft. While defense was Winters’ ticket to the NFL, he didn’t always dominate just that side of the ball. In high school before landing with the Horned Frogs, Winters in a Texas state quarterfinal game racked up EIGHT (!!!) touchdowns.
Winters, known then by his full name, De’Monderick, was a running back for Burton High School in his junior season. In a back-and-forth affair vs. Falls City, a little bit of luck was all Winters and Burton needed to get rolling. After a turnover on a kickoff in the third quarter, Winters went 48 yards for a TD. He later put the game away with three fourth-quarter TDs.
Here are some highlights of the future 49ers LB in that game, via Mr. Bowtie’s Texas High School Sports Machine:
It’s clear Winters is a terrific athlete, and he’ll need to rely on that athleticism to carve out a role with the 49ers where they do have a starting LB job up for grabs.
Winters never played any offense in college, but he did see action on defense in all four of his seasons with TCU. He was a three-year starter and started 36 of the 48 games he played, racking up 246 tackles, 33.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks.
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