FootballSaturday, November 25, 2017
6

 Launius said. “(He asked) a lot 

of questions about the mobility 
of the movement that a beginner 
student wouldn’t even have the 
conception of asking.”

Having taught at the studio for 

the past 10 years, Launius never 
once saw a football player walk 
through its doors. But as she put 
it, teaching Winovich was “a 
treat.”

Though they joked about it, 

there was never a recital in the 
cards for Michigan’s 6-foot-3, 
253-pound defensive lineman.

“He was like, ‘Yeah I could 

get up there, you just show me 
the stuff, we’ll work on it and I 
could get up there,’ ” Launius 
said. “And I think we joked about 
whether or not he’d have to wear 
a tutu, and he’s like, ‘I’m not sure 
about that but we’ll see.’ ”

As Launius explained, the 

ballet lessons allowed Winovich 
to focus on external rotation 
muscles — helping him to quickly 
shift weight, and teaching him 
to control his body when it was 
caught in odd positions.

For all the affinity Winovich 

had for being a quick study, 
though, there was one thing he 
never was good at: musicality.

Launius would tell her pupil 

the steps they were going to do, 
and turn on a piece of music. The 
music, no matter what it was, 
didn’t matter.

“He would do the steps to his 

own rhythm,” Launius said. “He 
would do it really well, but he 
would never do it with the music, 
so it didn’t really matter if there 
was music or not.”

And perhaps there’s no better 

metaphor for this journey than 
just that. Chase Winovich, in 
a ballet studio of all places, 
disregarded the music. He moved 
to his own.

***
During his junior year of 

high 
school, 
Winovich 
was 

approached with a question.

Do you want to play in the 

NFL?

The 
inquiry 
came 
from 

then-Florida 
State 
defensive 

coordinator Sal Sunseri.

Winovich said yes, but isn’t 

shy in now admitting it wasn’t 
even on his radar. He was roughly 
three months removed from 
getting his first college offer. 
He had just switched positions 
during the season, and was still 
“trying to make it” in high school.

It was a self-admitted time of 

uncertainty.

The 
NFL 
was 
never 

Winovich’s 
first 
dream. 
He 

didn’t give much thought to his 
plans after college at all. At least 
in part, that changed when he 
visited Michigan in April and 
stayed with former linebacker 
Jake Ryan. They showed him 
highlights of himself and Ryan 
side by side, and Winovich knew 
Ryan was a good student as well.

As Winovich put it, making 

that sort of impact at the college 
level was “all I wanted to do.”

Now, he’s done that and more.
Winovich has one more year of 

eligibility, but the NFL beckons. 
Harbaugh has equated him to 
J.J. Watt. Hyperboles aside, he is 
second in the Big Ten in tackles 
for loss and fifth in sacks.

And all the hype comes only 

one year after his defensive 
homecoming. 
Last 
season, 

Winovich 
says, 
was 
about 

vindicating 
himself 
and 

embracing the process that got 
him here. He admits that the 
NFL was an afterthought even a 
few months ago. But the reality is 
finally settling in.

“That was kind of the big thing 

last year, but this year I think 
maybe the focus has shifted,” he 
says. “I went to my buddy and 
I said, ‘Man this is crazy. I’m 
actually gonna make it.’ ”

So we’re back to that word. 

Crazy, the term most commonly 
used to describe Chase Winovich.

It’s hard not to almost laugh at 

it.

Because when you ask him 

what his teammates mean when 
they say “Chase is Chase,” even 
he can’t tell you.

When you ask him why he 

dressed as himself for Halloween, 
he’ll say his mom told him the 
worst thing you can be in life is 
someone else.

And when you ask him about 

his current role, he’ll tell you 
a story about shekels from the 
Bible that his friend Macy shared 
with him at Perry’s Burgers in 
Ohio.

Above anything, though, ask 

Chase Winovich if it’s flattering 
that his teammates say he has a 
screw loose. He’ll refer you again 
to McGregor, saying you need to 
be at least slightly crazy toward 
your craft. Then he’ll give you 
another quote, one that seems to 
cut to the core of his being.

“The people that are crazy 

enough to believe they can 
change the world are the ones 
that usually do it,” Winovich 
says.

Maybe not the world. His 

world though? Yeah, he’s already 
done that.

WINOVICH
From Page 5
Hill reflects on final career game

Khalid 
Hill 
cried 
during 

Michigan’s final home game last 
year. 

At that point, he didn’t know 

if he’d declare for the NFL Draft 
or return for his final season at 
Michigan.

A presentation — with fittingly 

emotional music — put together 
by photographer David Turnley 
on the big screen didn’t help 
matters, either.

But Hill came back. Now 

the fifth-year senior fullback 
is staring, with 100 percent 
certainty, at what will be his last 
game at Michigan Stadium. His 
mom, brother, high school coach 
and close friend Desmond King 
will all be in attendance. There’s 
a sense of finality that wasn’t 
quite there last year, even when 
all families of fourth and fifth-
year players went through a pre-
game ceremony.

The stakes are higher, too. 

Last year’s senior day game was 
against Indiana. This year’s is 
against the team that everyone 
comes to Ann Arbor to play 
against.

“We need it as a team. We 

need it as a program,” Hill said. 
“We haven’t beaten Ohio State in 
a long time.”

Hill 
has 
already 
noticed 

a 
difference 
in 
the 
team’s 

preparation this week. He called 
Tuesday one of the best practices 
“we’ve had in a long time.”

“We 
were 
flying 
around, 

getting after it,” 
Hill said. “Guys 
are putting forth 
their best effort 
to help us win, so 
we’ve got to go 
out and get this 
win.”

Hill 
has 

had time to be 
retrospective, 
as well. He told 
reporters that he 
believes his decision to return 
for one more year worked out.

“I did what I could to help the 

team,” Hill said. “I put my best 
effort out there on the field, so I 
think I accomplished everything 
I needed to accomplish.”

He 
also 
admitted 
that 

Saturday’s game will be used 
“a lot” to gauge how much this 
young team grew throughout the 
year.

“... Some of these guys are 

playing as freshmen, and they’ve 
got to go through the growing 
pains to get to where they want 
to be,” Hill said. “I think that 
who we are in this last game will 
show that, even though this team 

is young, they still can be a great 
team — and will be a great team 
down the line.”

While there certainly have 

been growing pains, 8-3 is still a 
lot better than where Michigan 

was 
just 
three 

years ago at the 
end 
of 
Brady 

Hoke’s 
tenure. 

Hill said Tuesday 
that 
“nothing 

was 
worse” 

than 
enduring 

that 5-7 season, 
especially 
with 

him injured and 
watching 
from 

the sidelines.

“For us to be doing what we 

are doing, it goes to show that 
we’re trying to turn a program 
around and get back to the 
Michigan way.”

Of course, getting back to the 

Michigan way entails beating 
its most-hated rival. And that’s 
something Hill probably doesn’t 
need to spend a lot of time 
thinking over.

“It’d be something special,” 

Hill 
said. 
“Something 
that 

hasn’t been accomplished in a 
long time. To be a part of that 
team who does it is something 
big. So we’re just putting forth 
as much effort as we can to get 
this win.”

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Fifth-year senior fullback Khalid Hill has been pleased with the results of his decision to come back for one more season.

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

To be a part 
of that team 
who does it is 
something big