Chase Winovich of Michigan and Breckyn Hager of Texas have a few things in common.

The most obvious commonality between Winovich and Hager is the long blonde hair flowing out of their helmets. But, there’s plenty more.

Both are listed at exactly 6-3, 255. Both are seniors in 2018. Winovich is from Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania which is located in the hills just outside of Pittsburgh. Hager is from Westlake Hills

which is located in the hills just outside of Austin, Texas.

Both play defensive end for their respective teams and both are fiery leaders of their defenses. Both have motors that never stop and they bring everything they have on every play. Both are very fun to watch for those of us that love to watch a football player that absolutely loves playing the game.

At Thomas Jefferson High School, Winovich was an outstanding athlete playing quarterback and linebacker. He was rated only a 3 star recruit by ESPN in the 2014 class and the 48th rated outside linebacker. In spite of his not so lofty ranking, Winovich was still highly recruited and had quite a few offers including his supposed childhood favorite Ohio State.

Winovich supposedly had offers from Florida State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Arkansas and many others including the already mentioned Ohio State Buckeyes. During the recruiting process, Winovich changed his mind and signed with the Michigan Wolverines in what would be Michigan coach Brady Hoke’s last signing class.

With the Michigan class containing stars like Jabrill Peppers, Winovich was one of their lowest rated recruits. ESPN had him as their 48th ranked outside linebacker prospect.

Breckyn Hager is a class behind Winovich and his situation is a bit different.

Even though Hager’s older brother, Bryce, played at Baylor and is in the NFL now, Hager is something of a Texas legacy. His father, Britt played for Texas and still holds the all time record in tackles. Britt was a 3rd round draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles and he played 9 seasons in the NFL.

Texas, under previous head coach Mack Brown, did not offer Bryce Hager. So, he went on to a nice career at Baylor. Texas hadn’t offered Breckyn Hager, either, and he also committed to Baylor. But, former Texas head coach Charlie Strong saw Breckyn play and decided he liked what he saw and offered a scholarship.

It didn’t take all that long for Breckyn Hager to decide to stay home and to try and follow in his father’s footsteps.

Like Winovich, Hager was one of the lowest rated recruits in his class. The 2015 Texas recruiting class had 28 signees with 18 four star recruits and Breckyn Hager was a lowly 3 star recruit and almost last in his class.

ESPN had Hager ranked as their 49th inside linebacker recruit.
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Chase Winovich started his career at Michigan at linebacker. But, when Jim Harbaugh replaced Brady Hoke as head coach, Winovich moved to tight end and worked some at fullback. Harbaugh loves his tight ends and fullbacks.

But, by 2016, Winovich found a permanent home at defensive end. As a part time player, in 2016, Winovich was second on the team in sacks only behind future NFL star Taco Charlton.

Hager got some playing time as a true freshman in 2015 and quickly became a fan favorite because of his heart. Just like today, he was always in the opponents backfield and his motor never stopped. He was only in on 17 tackles, but he also picked off a pass.

2016 was a different story with Hager finishing 2nd on the team in total tackles and sacking the quarterback 6 times and 13.5 tackles for loss.

From his defensive end position, Winovich was 4th on the team in total tackles in 2017. He tied for the team lead with Khaleke Hudson with 8 quarterback sacks. But, he led the entire team with 18.5 tackles for loss which helped him earn All Big 10 honors.

There was talk of Winovich going to the NFL, but he elected to return for his senior season which made his fellow starting defensive linemen, like Rashan Gary, very happy.

At Texas, head coach Charlie Strong was fired and Tom Herman was hired to guide the football program. Apparently, the new coaching staff was not as sold on Hager as the last coaches had been. He played little at first, but then came on as the year progressed. Even though his total tackles were way down from the previous season, Hager still had 9 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback sacks.

Winovich dyed his hair orange last season for the Wolverine’s bowl game. Several of his teammates also participated in raising money for the ChadTough Foundation. ChadTough is about Chad Carr who was former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr’s grandson. Chad passed away in 2015 at the age of 5 from Diffuse Intrisic Pontine Glioma. The ChadTough Foundation is raising money and awareness about DIPG.

Not only is Chase Winovich a fantastic football player, but he has a huge heart both on and off the field. He will always be somebody that I personally admire.

Down in Austin, Texas, workout warrior Breckyn Hager was impressing in a different kind of way. Sportswriter Bruce Feldman puts out a most freakish football player list every season. Chase Winovich’s teammate, Rashan Gary made the list. But, so did Breckyn Hager. Here is a kid that was lightly recruited and almost didn’t get a shot at playing for his dream school. But, he’s worked his way not only into the starting lineup, but into the heart’s of Texas Longhorn fans and has become a team leader.

In 2018, Chase Winovich is having an incredible senior season and is currently in 3rd on his team in total tackles. But, he’s also living in his opponent’s backfield and has an early 10.5 tackles for loss and 3 quarterback sacks. He’s on an All American pace.

While Breckyn Hager is playing defensive end in a 3 man line. He plays too far inside to register a lot of tackles and sacks. So far he only has 1 quarterback sack. He also saved the day for the Longhorns when he deflected a 4th down pass against Kansas State.

Chase Winovich and Breckyn Hager live thousands of miles apart, but they have a whole lot in common. Other than the long blonde hair, their biggest common trait is huge, huge hearts and a desire to play football. That’s the reason why I will always want to follow both of them. They are a lot of fun to watch.