A Long Winters’ Journey

As August faded into September and the football season loomed near, things were looking pretty good for Collier Winters. The 2009 season had been his coming-out party, and he celebrated in a big way, nearly leading the Crimson to a league title while racking up over 2,000 total yards in his third season. A threat through the air and on the ground, Winters earned a second-team All-Ivy selection for his play.

Understandably, expectations were high for the junior quarterback this year, with many predicting an Ivy League championship. The Sports Network even voted him the Ancient Eight’s preseason Player of the Year.

And then, in one play, his whole season was in jeopardy.

In the first quarter of the team’s first scrimmage, the quarterback suffered what appeared to be a season-ending injury.

“I had to avoid some pressure and rolled out to the right and made a throw,” Winters recalls. “At some point in my motion...I just heard a pop. [I] tore one of my groin muscles.”

The diagnosis wasn’t pretty. Harvard coach Tim Murphy openly acknowledged that he thought his quarterback was done for the year, and the same thought entered Winters’ mind.

“There was a lot of disappointment, maybe a little bit of worry about not being able to come back this season,” the quarterback says of the injury.

But Winters has had to deal with challenges his entire career. Rather than back down, he has embraced them.

The Oklahoma native began playing football in the second grade as a running back under the tutelage of his dad, Kevin Winters, a former outside linebacker at Kansas State. When the younger Winters entered high school, his father suggested a position switch to quarterback.

“I always wanted to be a running back, so I didn’t really want to switch at first,” Winters admits. “But eventually I started to like it a lot better, and it just felt pretty natural to step into that position.”

Winters’ play caught the eye of a number of Division I scouts. He committed to the University of New Mexico before receiving news that he would be offered a spot at Harvard, leading the signal caller to retract his commitment to the Lobos.

“I wasn’t quite sure if I would get into Harvard,” Winters says, “but then once I did, I always say it’s really not an opportunity you can pass up.”

The Kirkland House resident’s play was limited his freshman year, and after a torn labrum sidelined the quarterback in his second season, Winters decided to take a medical redshirt.

In 2009, his sophomore season, it was Winters’ turn to take the helm. But he had a tough act to follow. His predecessor, Chris Pizzotti ’08-’09, had been dominant, leading Harvard to two straight Ivy League championships and earning the 2008 Ivy League Player of the Year award.

“It’s really hard to fill a player like Chris Pizzotti’s shoes,” says senior running back Gino Gordon.

But Winters was up to the challenge.

“Most quarterbacks come in, and they’ve got time to learn [and] develop, but he came in and we had a championship-caliber team ready to go,” says junior wide receiver Levi Richards. “He did a great job of helping the team not miss a beat.”

At least a part of the quarterback’s success can be attributed to his work ethic.

“Physically, he’s an extremely talented guy.” Richards adds. “But the amount of work he puts into football...really shows in how he plays, and I think that’s the main reason he’s had so much success.”

Other than one loss to eventual league champion Penn, the Winters-led Crimson won all of its league games last year. Winters had the fewest interceptions of any quarterback in the Ivy League and also led the Ancient Eight in yards per completion and passer rating.

To cap it all off, the then-sophomore quarterback keyed a late victory against Yale in the 126th rendition of The Game.

It seemed that everything was falling into place for Winters, especially after he beat out senior Andrew Hatch in a quarterback battle in the spring. But after suffering what looked like a season-ending injury in early September, Winters’ plans for 2010 were dashed.

Unfazed, the former running back attacked his rehab with his characteristic energy and willpower.

“[Rehab] was definitely a big commitment and one of the harder things I’ve had to do,” Winters says. “[It required] really being disciplined with making sure to get all my rehab done.”

His teammates noticed his effort. Winters even carried a machine with him that would ice and steam his muscles, helping to expedite his recovery.

“It was unbelievable,” Richards says. “He had that [machine] everywhere with him, little briefcase for it...It was pretty funny.”

“But he probably still wouldn’t be out there if it weren’t for how hard he worked in coming back,” the receiver adds.

Winters’ effort paid off. After weeks of intense rehab, he was cleared before the Princeton game, eventually taking the field for the second half.

“I was excited...to come back and play,” Winters says. “It’s a lot of fun being out there, so I was just happy and relieved to get the chance...to go out there and play with the other 10 guys on offense.”

Despite the time away from the field, Winters caught up quickly. In just his second full game back, he threw for 246 yards, a career-high.

“He was definitely rusty in the second half against Princeton,” Murphy says. “[But against Dartmouth he] really increased our synchronicity, tempo, and just overall confidence as an offensive football team.”

After leading Harvard to convincing wins over Princeton, Dartmouth, and Columbia, Winters couldn’t solve a tough Penn defense, completing under 50 percent of his passes for the first time this year.

Now, there’s just one thing left this season for Winters to focus on: beating Yale again.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Winters says.

As always.