Colorado University Athletics
Winfree Drafted By Broncos; Others Sign FA Contracts
April 27, 2019 | Football
DENVER — "With the 187th pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Denver Broncos select…"
Those were the words that Phillip Lindsay didn't hear last year, but Saturday, as his former teammates began the fourth quarter of the Colorado Spring Game, that's exactly what happened for Juwann Winfree.
Winfree becomes the 272nd player drafted out of Colorado and the first wide receiver since Paul Richardson was drafted in the second round by the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. While the Broncos' history with the Buffs runs deep, Winfree is the first CU player drafted by the Broncos in almost 40 years, since Laval Short was drafted in the fifth round in 1980.
Winfree credited attending a local Pro Day and Lindsay as the turning points with the Broncos.
"I definitely don't think they were really high on me, to be honest with you, but after that local pro day and sitting down with (receivers coach) Zach Azzanni, he expressed interest in me," Winfree said. "Especially with Phillip Lindsay, I know he put in a huge word for me. He paved the way for me, doing what he did, coming from Colorado."
Winfree joined the Buffs in 2016 from Coffeyville CC after spending his freshman season at Maryland, and was injured prior to the 2016 season, redshirting. In 2017 as a junior, he burst on the scene against USC, catching five passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, with both scores coming from 50 yards or further, just the eighth time in CU history a receiver accomplished that feat. He finished that season with 21 catches for 325 yards and those two touchdowns. Hi senior season was cut short after being hit out of bounds in the Nebraska game and subsequently missing the next four games. He came back the second half of the season and finished with 28 catches for 324 yards and another two touchdowns.
Shortly after the conclusion of the draft, other Buffs realized their NFL dreams.
First was Evan Worthington, who was the top safety on many boards as the draft came to an end and quickly signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Within minutes of each other, Travon McMillian signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Javier Edwards signed with his hometown Houston Texans. A bit later, Kabion Ento announced on his twitter that he had signed with the Green Bay Packers and Drew Lewis confirmed he will join Edwards in Houston.
Worthington, a safety from Aurora, Colo., was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 performer last year, starting nine games and finishing with 48 tackles, six break-ups and one interception. He originally signed with Colorado in 2014 and played two years before missing the 2016 season. He then solidified his role as a junior in 2017, starting 11 games and leading the Buffs with three interceptions and had 86 tackles and seven pass break-ups.
McMillian was a graduate transfer for the Buffs from Virginia Tech, helping fill the hole left by Phillip LIndsay. He responded with 1,009 yards on 201 carries, averaging 5.0 yards per carry while scoring seven touchdowns. He also caught 14 balls for 118 yards and another score. He also had a 1,043 yards as a freshman at Virginia Tech and finished his career with 3,162 yards and 23 touchdowns at the two schools.
Edwards played two seasons for the Buffs after joining the team out of Blinn College in 2017. In two years, he played in 23 games and 871 defensive snaps, coming up with 69 tackles, including 16 at or behind the line of scrimmage, and had five hurries. He reported to CU at just under 390 pounds and shed 65 prior to the start of his senior season in 2018.
Ento came to the Buffs from East Central Community College in Mississippi prior to the 2016 season. He played in all 13 games that season with one start, and had eight catches for 174 yards and a touchdown, averaging 21.8 yards per reception. With Winfree and three seniors on the team in 2017, he chose to redshirt and in 2018, he caught 12 passes for 161 yards. Ten of those receptions came in the final five games of the season including a 5-catch, 82-yard performance at Arizona. He was very active on special teams throughout his career in Boulder and finished third on the team in 2018 with 26 points with five tackles, nine forced fair catches, eight knockdown blocks while he was twice the first player downfield and downed one punt.
Lewis joined the Buffs from Coffeyville after spending his true freshman season at Washington. Coming to Boulder with three years of eligibility, he played in all 13 games in 2016, mostly on special teams, before breaking out as a junior in 2017. The past two seasons, he played both inside linebacker and outside linebacker and amassed 193 tackles. As a senior, playing mostly outside but filling in on the inside when duty called, he finished with 66 tackles, with six for a loss and a pair of sacks. he added nine third down stops, six quarterback hurries and four pass break-ups.
Those were the words that Phillip Lindsay didn't hear last year, but Saturday, as his former teammates began the fourth quarter of the Colorado Spring Game, that's exactly what happened for Juwann Winfree.
Winfree becomes the 272nd player drafted out of Colorado and the first wide receiver since Paul Richardson was drafted in the second round by the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. While the Broncos' history with the Buffs runs deep, Winfree is the first CU player drafted by the Broncos in almost 40 years, since Laval Short was drafted in the fifth round in 1980.
Winfree credited attending a local Pro Day and Lindsay as the turning points with the Broncos.
"I definitely don't think they were really high on me, to be honest with you, but after that local pro day and sitting down with (receivers coach) Zach Azzanni, he expressed interest in me," Winfree said. "Especially with Phillip Lindsay, I know he put in a huge word for me. He paved the way for me, doing what he did, coming from Colorado."
Winfree joined the Buffs in 2016 from Coffeyville CC after spending his freshman season at Maryland, and was injured prior to the 2016 season, redshirting. In 2017 as a junior, he burst on the scene against USC, catching five passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns, with both scores coming from 50 yards or further, just the eighth time in CU history a receiver accomplished that feat. He finished that season with 21 catches for 325 yards and those two touchdowns. Hi senior season was cut short after being hit out of bounds in the Nebraska game and subsequently missing the next four games. He came back the second half of the season and finished with 28 catches for 324 yards and another two touchdowns.
Shortly after the conclusion of the draft, other Buffs realized their NFL dreams.
First was Evan Worthington, who was the top safety on many boards as the draft came to an end and quickly signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Within minutes of each other, Travon McMillian signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Javier Edwards signed with his hometown Houston Texans. A bit later, Kabion Ento announced on his twitter that he had signed with the Green Bay Packers and Drew Lewis confirmed he will join Edwards in Houston.
Worthington, a safety from Aurora, Colo., was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 performer last year, starting nine games and finishing with 48 tackles, six break-ups and one interception. He originally signed with Colorado in 2014 and played two years before missing the 2016 season. He then solidified his role as a junior in 2017, starting 11 games and leading the Buffs with three interceptions and had 86 tackles and seven pass break-ups.
McMillian was a graduate transfer for the Buffs from Virginia Tech, helping fill the hole left by Phillip LIndsay. He responded with 1,009 yards on 201 carries, averaging 5.0 yards per carry while scoring seven touchdowns. He also caught 14 balls for 118 yards and another score. He also had a 1,043 yards as a freshman at Virginia Tech and finished his career with 3,162 yards and 23 touchdowns at the two schools.
Edwards played two seasons for the Buffs after joining the team out of Blinn College in 2017. In two years, he played in 23 games and 871 defensive snaps, coming up with 69 tackles, including 16 at or behind the line of scrimmage, and had five hurries. He reported to CU at just under 390 pounds and shed 65 prior to the start of his senior season in 2018.
Ento came to the Buffs from East Central Community College in Mississippi prior to the 2016 season. He played in all 13 games that season with one start, and had eight catches for 174 yards and a touchdown, averaging 21.8 yards per reception. With Winfree and three seniors on the team in 2017, he chose to redshirt and in 2018, he caught 12 passes for 161 yards. Ten of those receptions came in the final five games of the season including a 5-catch, 82-yard performance at Arizona. He was very active on special teams throughout his career in Boulder and finished third on the team in 2018 with 26 points with five tackles, nine forced fair catches, eight knockdown blocks while he was twice the first player downfield and downed one punt.
Lewis joined the Buffs from Coffeyville after spending his true freshman season at Washington. Coming to Boulder with three years of eligibility, he played in all 13 games in 2016, mostly on special teams, before breaking out as a junior in 2017. The past two seasons, he played both inside linebacker and outside linebacker and amassed 193 tackles. As a senior, playing mostly outside but filling in on the inside when duty called, he finished with 66 tackles, with six for a loss and a pair of sacks. he added nine third down stops, six quarterback hurries and four pass break-ups.
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