Antoine Winfield, Jr. refused to go down Thursday night.
In the Minnesota Golden Gophers' opening game against New Mexico State in Minneapolis, Winfield broke not one, not two, but seven tackles on his way to six points.
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He caught a punt around his own 25-yard line and powered his way through the arms of multiple would-be Aggies’ tacklers until he made his mark on the Gophers’ lead.
The guys with the "C" on the chest came to play tonight!@liltweeze26 houses the punt to give @GopherFootball some separation. #BTNStandout x @AutoOwnersIns pic.twitter.com/eHj0q2lBPK
— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) August 31, 2018
Winfield is the son of former NFL pro and Ohio State Buckeye with the same name. After playing in all 12 games and starting in nine games as a true freshman in 2016, Winfield missed the final eight games with an injury last year and received a medical redshirt. He certainly looks fully recovered and should be a huge part of the Gophers' defense at cornerback, as well as special teams this season.
Winfield, Sr. was a consensus All-American at Ohio State and excelled at cornerback. Although, he didn’t do much punt returning in the NFL. He had just one career punt return for 11 yards.
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This isn’t the first time Winfield, Jr. showed off his speed. In his freshman season, he returned an interception 82 yards for a touchdown, which still stands as Minnesota’s fifth-longest interception return for a touchdown.
WINFIELD TO THE HOUSE! A 75-yard punt return TOUCHDOWN! #SkiUMah #RTB #NMSUvsMINN pic.twitter.com/RquPchR9LW
— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) August 31, 2018
It was the first punt return for a touchdown for Minnesota since 2013, which was also against New Mexico State.
