COLUMBIA — A preseason position change has paid off in a big way for Roderick Winters.
Danny DeArman, the head coach at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas, said Winters — a fledgling wide receiver as a sophomore — switched to linebacker before the 2012 season due to a lack of numbers at the position.
Winters, it turn, responded with a monster junior campaign in which he racked up 93 tackles, and his name popped on the radar of Missouri defensive coordinator Dave Steckel, who eventually offered him a scholarship. On Sunday, Winters cashed in on that offer, officially becoming MU’s 14th verbal commitment for the Class of 2014.
“He was just an average receiver, so after his sophomore year we needed help on the defensive side of the ball,” DeArman said. “We moved him to linebacker and he is just knocking people out.”
DeArman credits’ Winters’ intelligence for the quick adjustment, calling him a film junkie and a smart kid in the classroom, too (citing his 3.2 GPA).
“He wants to major in engineering, so he’s a very intelligent kid,” DeArman said. “He’s one of those kids you want to adopt.”
Of course, there’s also plenty of physical talent. DeArman said Winters, who is listed at 5-feet-11, 196 pounds and had scholarship offers from Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, North Dakota and Sam Houston State (according to Rivals), ran a 4.52 40-yard dash and posted a 39-inch vertical at a Missouri camp this June, which directly contributed to the scholarship offer.
“He didn’t have much publicity, but I have a relationship with Coach Steckel and he felt like there was something about Rod that was pretty interesting and that he had a good upside,” DeArman said. “He came out, watched him and got him up there for a camp, and Rod put up some good numbers there.”
Winters comes from the same high school program that produced former Tiger Kip Edwards and current Tiger Russell Hansbrough. Edwards was a two-year starter at cornerback for Missouri, while Hansbrough was the Tigers’ third-leading rusher as a true freshman last season.
“He knows about the pipeline we have to Missouri and how those kids are all taken care of,” DeArman said of Winters. “He knows I trust Steck and the coaches at Missouri. It was a no-brainer.”
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