Hunter Johnson #15 of the Northwestern Wildcats is sacked by Antoine Winfield Jr. #11 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first half at Ryan Field on November 23, 2019 in Evanston, Illinois. ((Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - University of Minnesota star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. is leaving the Gopher football program to pursue his NFL dream.
According to his Instagram, Winfield Jr. is declaring for the 2020 NFL Draft. The redshirt sophomore had two years of athletic eligibility left with the Gophers after suffering season-ending injuries in his freshman and sophomore years.
“I enjoyed my four years with the Gophers, and I want to thank everyone who has helped me along the way, from the coaches, to staffers and trainers, and my teammates. To Coach Fleck: I appreciate you being an awesome coach and mentor who created a great culture and instilled important lessons in me,” Winfield said in his Instagram post Wednesday morning.
Winfield finished this past season as a unanimous All-American, leading the Gophers with 88 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for a loss and three sacks. He finished fourth in the country and led the Big Ten with seven interceptions, and was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year.
Winfield returned an interception for a touchdown in Minnesota’s 42-7 win at Rutgers, and had the game-sealing interception in the Gophers’ Week 2 win at Fresno State in overtime.
Winfield had five tackles in the Outback Bowl as the Gophers beat Auburn 31-24 to finish with 11 wins for the first time since 1904. His departure means P.J. Fleck and Joe Rossi will have to replace eight starters on defense next season. Along with Winfield, seven defensive seniors will graduate.