On Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019, Cheltenham senior Marcus Winfield was recognized for signing a letter of intent to play football at Delaware State University. (Photos provided courtesy of Kevin Kaufman/Cheltenham High School)
Marcus Winfield – Delaware State University (Football)
Major: Business/Finance
Final list of colleges: Delaware State, Stetson
Reasons for choosing Delaware State: “Financially and also, I took an official visit, and for me, I felt more comfortable there.”
What was the progression that led you to competing in football at the collegiate level? “Ninth grade I played football, and 10th grade I quit playing football. In 11th grade, I started playing again. I thought it was just going to last for high school. I played my junior year and I didn’t think I was that good. College coaches started coming, and I thought – ‘I could really do something with this,’ so I started working in the summertime. I doubled my stats senior year – my tackles and stuff, and it just kind of blew up after that.”
Coach Ryan Nase says: “It’s my first (signing) as a head coach, which is pretty cool. It’s been nice because coming in last year I kind of got to see the process all the way through with Marcus. It was really exciting for Marcus, and unfortunately, at times, he learned some of the business parts of football and recruiting too. That’s the great thing about sports – he kind of learned. At some point, he’s going to go to Delaware State, and he’s going to major in business. He’s going to be in a boardroom, and he’s already dealt with a contract negotiation, which is the coolest part about what football brings to our student athletes. When you do as many things right as he’s done, you give yourself opportunities like this.
“We tell the kids all the time – it’s really not complicated. If you work hard and do things the right way, good things are going to happen to you. Obviously, he has the natural ability to be a Division 1 athlete that not all of them have, but if you just work hard and do things right the way he has, there’s going to be great opportunities, and that’s shown through not only the fact that he signed a Division 1 letter of intent, but his GPA, his SAT scores, his numbers in the weight room. This isn’t happening by accident. This is happening because he works as hard as he does.
“A lot of what made him good at defensive ends were family genes. Grandpop was a defensive lineman, his dad was a defensive lineman. A lot of it has to do with dedication to his craft and wanting to be good, accepting coaching. Sometimes players, especially his caliber, have trouble accepting coaching. He never has. He has the tenacity to find the football. He wants to make the play. When it’s fourth down and West Chester East in the first playoff game is going for a fourth down conversation, he wants to be the guy that gets that hit and makes the play. He thrives in that type of situation.”
About Marcus:
Favorite food: Alfredo with Iced Tea
Favorite movie: The Longest Yard
Favorite music: Rap
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