If you turn on the tape, it's easy to see the similarity. The aggression, the speed to the football, the arriving with bad intentions.
If you're a Buckeye fan older than 30-years-old, the similarities will flash you back to the birth of the Silver Bullets, when "DBU" was reborn, the mid-1990s. They'll take you back to a player that is as revered as any Buckeye has ever been.
Antoine Winfield, Jr. can't deny the impact that his father's Buckeye career has had on his life. It's his birthright, after all.
"I was born in the hospital on campus," the younger Winfield told Eleven Warriors. "I grew up a Buckeye fan, because both of my parents went there."
Winfield has grown up. He's left Ohio and lived all over the country as his father's career took the family from Buffalo, to Minnesota, to Seattle and now, to Texas. The 5-foot-10, 187-pound Winfield is getting ready to enter his senior season at The Woodlands High School.
"After my dad retired, my parents wanted to move somewhere with good weather, they were tired of the cold," he said of the decision to relocate to Texas. "They chose Texas because we've got family down here and the weather is great. I wanted to move down here because of the football. I really wanted to test myself and see how good I was against some real competition."
So far so good for Winfield. He's got six scholarship offers to his name, including opportunities from Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern, Houston, SMU and Purdue. Still, when your father is one of the all-time greats, the greatest competition you can ever face is yourself. The weight of expectations you can't escape and don't deserve just because you share a name. Winfield is doing his best to keep things in perspective.
"I know a lot of people have high expectations for me," he said of the comparisons between he and his father. "I just play my game and try to not think about that. It can get a little tiring to hear people say 'you're good because of your father.' My dad helps me train and prepare for the season but when it's game time I ultimately know that I have to make the plays. Having the name doesn't make you good. It's about the work you put in."
Winfield says his game is molded after how his father played, not because of the name but because it makes sense for his size and style. The elder Winfield, who played at Akron Garfield High School, was overlooked by many due to his short stature, and the Texas prep says he feels that is a mistake. He wants his game to be the determining factor and acknowledges there's areas he can work on.
"There's more than just how tall someone is," he said. "It's not all about height. My strengths right now are causing turnovers, being around the ball. I mean, I can always get better, and I could probably get better in coverage. I want to play like Tyrann Mathieu."
Today, Winfield will be in Columbus, on the fields his All-American Buckeye father used to call home. He'll be there putting in the work to impress Ohio State's coaching staff. With a limited number of spots available in 2016, and a short list of defensive backs already having offers, Winfield will have to shine bright tomorrow on his own and he's going to give it his best shot.
"My goal? My goal is to go out and do what I do well," he added. "I want to catch the attention of the coaches and let them know I can play. It would be great to (get a Buckeye offer.) It would let me know that my hard worked payed off and that's my dream offer."
