From dog tags to Spartan Dawg
Orlando (FL) Bishop Moore defensive end Donavon Winter (6-5, 235) fulfilled a lifelong dream when he accepted a scholarship offer from Mark Dantonio on Monday, after earning a spot in Michigan State’s 2017 recruiting class on the basis of his performance at the program’s elite prospect camp on Saturday.
“It’s just a dream, a huge dream that I’ve wanted for so long,” Winter said. “I can’t believe that it came true, and it wouldn’t have been possible without help from God and my family.”
Winter traces his love for Michigan State back to a gift his father gave him when he was six years old.
“My father gave me a dog tag necklace with a Spartan on it,” Winter said. “That’s what started everything. After that, I grew up watching them play Michigan, and all of the other teams in the Big Ten. I’ve watched the Big Ten my whole life.”
Donavon Winter’s father, Blaise Winter played for several teams during his more than decade-long NFL career after being selected in the 2nd Round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. Mr. Winter embarked on a second career as a motivational speaker after his final professional season in 1994. He also began conducting clinics instructing defensive line coaches and their players on the use of hand combat techniques for football.
“In 2005, my dad worked with the defensive line coach at Michigan State and his defensive linemen with his hand combat,” said Winter, who lived in Wisconsin before moving to Florida. “He taught them things that I’ve known since I was little. He also did some motivational things with them. Ever since then my dad has known the coaches in the program just from his business of hand combat, the NFL, and motivational speaking.”
Early in the process, Michigan State coaches were aware of Winter because of his father. But the future Spartan defensive lineman earned the scholarship offer he wanted so badly with his tireless work ethic and determination.
“Most guys at that age don’t usually work as hard as Donavon does,” said Bishop Moore coach Matt Hedrick, who has had Winter in his program since he transferred in from Hegarty High for the final semester of his junior year. “He has a great work ethic, and his dad has trained him well. He understands technique better than most high school guys. He has a bright future at Michigan State with the type of training he’ll have in that program, and with how hard he works every day.
"I think it’s going to be a great fit for him.”
Winter received offers from Michigan, Tennessee, and Kentucky during the month of June before adding Michigan State to his list two days after camp.
“When I was at Michigan State’s camp, I worked my tail off and I showed them what I could do,” Winter said. “They put me where they put me on the defensive line, and they loved way I played. They loved the way I worked. They loved my spirit. I left without an offer, but I knew deep down that I did enough to get one.
"When (Dantonio) offered me after Father’s Day I committed on the spot.”
Winter’s high school coach is not surprised by the Michigan State offer or his player's commitment.
“I expected him to do well at Michigan State’s camp because he’s done so well at all the camps he’s gone to,” Hedrick said. “He’s really good in 1-on-1’s. He has a good first step, and he has really good technique.”
Winter took an earlier unofficial visit to Michigan State to watch practice and meet with coaches last spring. At that time, he had yet to establish his current reputation as a Power Five-caliber defensive lineman.
“When I went up there for the first time I got to know the coaches really well, and I told them that I had transferred to Bishop Moore,” Winter said. “I told them, ‘my dream is to play for Michigan State.’ I didn’t have an offer at that point, but the coaches knew that I was committed to earning one. They knew that I loved Michigan State, and that I would be fully invested in their program.”
Orlando recruiter Brad Salem saw enough from Winter last spring to extend a camp invitation.
“He saw me play a little bit, but not a lot,” Winter recalled. “He asked me to come up to camp, and he got to know me better. He came to my school a couple of times with different coaches. And it was a heartwarming thing because it was my favorite school, my dream school.”
The number of college coaches evaluating Winter increased substantially when he transferred from Hegarty to Bishop Moore. During spring, Winter was the lesser known of the program’s two Power Five-caliber defensive ends. College recruiters dropping by Bishop Moore to evaluate Winter’s teammate Jonathon MacCollister, a recent Notre Dame commitment, were soon asking about the new guy.
“We’ve had a lot of coaches coming through here during the past couple of years,” Hedrick said. “Everyone that was in recruiting Parker Boudreaux in last year’s class was back to see MacCollister, and that helped Donovan and some of our other players get quite a bit of exposure. He had a great spring in our program, and being in front of all of those coaches created some of his opportunities.
“Michigan State was the school he dreamed about playing for as a kid, so its special to see him have that opportunity.”