Antoine Winfield Jr. patrolled the Gophers secondary from 2016 to '19, earning All-America honors and displaying a love of football and a flair for the dramatic that helped him become a second-round NFL draft choice.
So, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety had the chance to discuss Tyler Nubin, his Gophers understudy, one could sense the excitement in his words over the phone.
"He's going to have an awesome senior year. He's going to ball out, and he'll be playing up here, against me or with me," Winfield declared.
Beginning with Thursday's season opener against Nebraska at Huntington Bank Stadium, Nubin, a fifth-year senior safety, hopes to bolster his NFL draft stock while helping the Gophers contend for a Big Ten West title. He's on the watch list for the Thorpe (top defensive back), Bednarik (top defensive player) and Nagurski (top defensive player) awards and a couple of preseason All-America teams, but Nubin would rather focus on what lies ahead.
"I don't really hang my hat on anything I've done in the past," he said. "It's always about what I'm going to do next. That's why I love this game."
It's that love of the game that Nubin shares with Winfield, his mentor from his true freshman season in 2019. While Winfield was helping the Gophers finish 11-2 and No. 10 in the final AP poll with plays like his double-overtime interception at Fresno State, Nubin was taking it all in as a backup safety and special teams player. Winfield, now entering his fourth season with the Buccaneers, saw an eager pupil.
"When he came in, I just remember that he loved the game of football. That's the best way to say it. He just loved playing it," Winfield said. "I remember him just like looking up to me and me just showing him the ropes and being there for him. I know that every time he got a chance to play, he was excited and always had a smile on his face. He just played extremely hard."
Different shapes, similar productivity