Hank Winchester
 | |
| No. 55 – Retired | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | May 5, 2017 (aged 44) Orange County, California, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) |
| Username: | Timeconsumer |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Santa Ana High |
| College: | Florida |
| ISFL Draft: | 2040 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13 |
| DSFL Draft: | 2039 / Round: 3 / Pick: 19 |
| Career history | |
| Roster status: | Retired |
Hank Winchester (born May 5, 2016) was an American football linebacker for the New York Silverbacks. He had previously played for the Myrtle Beach Buccaneers in the DSFL in 2039.
Contents
Early years
Hank Winchester was born in Orange County California, son of Hall of Fame Linebacker Angus Winchester. Being exposed to the professional foootball environment from a very young age he naturally gravitated towards to sport. Beginning in Pop Warner where he was coached by his father it was obvious that Hank's instincts for the game and lineage had him destined for a future as a professional player. By the time he was in high school Hank Winchester was a starting linebacker on the varsity team and weighed more than some of the seniors. His raw physical speed and power combined with his foootball IQ and instincts made for an almost unstoppable combination. Largely on the strength of the defense captained by Winchester the team won the State Championships his Junior and Senior year. It was also in his Senior Year that Hank was named to the All-American team. His academics were also not overlooked as it was something his family felt very strongly about. Hank graduated as the Valedictorian of his school, he was strong in a variety of subjects but excelled in math and history. With a charismatic and outgoing personality he felt an education in business would open a lot of opportunities for him in life after football.
College career
"A highly recruited prospect, Hank Winchester turned down several offers before settling on attending the University of Florida. Although more high profile programs were available, academics were important for Hank and he was interested in the offerings of the business school at UF. Majoring in finance it was important to both Hank and his family that he finish his degree before going into the draft. He also did not want to red shirt and wanted to spend 4 seasons on the field and graduate before going to the ISFL draft. Hank started most of his college career at outside linebacker where his speed was used as part of a suffocating pass rush.
In his Freshman year he rotated snaps but finished the season with 35 tackles, 5 sacks, and 1 forced fumbled. By sophomore year Winchester was a full time starter and finished the season with 75 tackles, 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 interception. In his Junior year Hank and the University of Florida made it to the College Football Playoff on the back of his 92 tackles, 12.5 sacks, 2 inteceptions, and 1 forced fumble. It was in his Senior year when the Gators made it to the National Championship game and Winchester tallied 84 tackles, 16 sacks, 1 interception, and 3 forced fumbles. However, the team's struggles on offense proved to be too great for the big stage as they lost the Championship to Ohio State."
College career statistics
| Career statistics | Defense | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Tck | TFL | FF/FR | Sck | Int | PD | Sfty | TD | Blk P/XP/FG |
| 2034 | Florida | 13 | 35 | 2 | 1/0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2035 | Florida | 13 | 75 | 4 | 2/0 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2036 | Florida | 13 | 92 | 3 | 1/0 | 12.5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
| 2037 | Florida | 13 | 84 | 5 | 3/0 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
Professional career
Drafted in the third round of the DSFL Season 24 draft Hank Winchester surprised many by his fall into the third round where he was selected by Myrtle Beach. He went on to have a strong rookie campaign that year in the DSFL where as a middle linebacker he and fellow linebacker Woods went on to be the top duo in tackling in the league with 111 and 113. This turned out to be the core of the stingiest run defense in the league that allowed the fewest rushing yards per game in the DSFL. Entering into the Season 25 draft Winchester made it well known of his intentions to become the premier interior linebacker and run stopper in the league. Teams were made aware that he would not accept another season in the DSFL or an outside linebacker position. Some speculate that this resulted in another slide in the draft where Winchester went much lower than his anticipated draft spot of somewhere around picks 5-8 to instead be selected at pick 13 by the New York Silverbacks. A young expansion team looking to build a strong defense while its offense has time to develop the Silverbacks and Winchester were seen as a perfect fit. On top of a strong DSFL campaign and one of the best combine performances by a linebacker in recent memory with his 4.27 speed and 36 bench reps Winchester is expected to make an immediate impact in his first season in the ISFL alongside teammate and strong side linebacker Jack Banks.
| Ht | Wt | 40‑yd dash | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
255 lb (116 kg) |
4.27 s | 4.17 s | 7.34 s | 33.7 in (0.86 m) |
130 ft 9.6 in (39.87 m) |
36 reps | 20 |
DSFL Statistics
| Career statistics | Defense | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Games | Tck | TFL | FF/FR | Sck | Int | PD | Sfty | TD | Blk P/XP/FG |
| 2039 (S24) | Buccaneers | 14 | 111 | 4 | 2/1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0/0/0 |
