Blaise Winter

Blaise Winter (born January 31, 1962) is an American motivational speaker as well as a former football player and coach. Winter played professionally as a defensive end for the Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers and Green Bay Packers on the National Football League (NFL), and coached college football for the UCF Knights.

College career After playing football, basketball and track at Tappan Zee High School, Winter took a tour of colleges in the Northeast United States after his senior year of high school, looking for an opportunity to play college football. Syracuse was the only school to offer Winter a scholarship, and that was only after a previous commit decommitted. Winter was named a team captain and most valuable player during his senior season with the Orange. He started all but one game during his rookie season, and was named to some all-rookie teams. A shoulder injury landed him on injured reserve during his sophomore season; the Colts released him at the end of the year.

San Diego Chargers (first stint) Winter played with the San Diego Chargers during the 1987 season, which was shortened by a players strike.

San Diego Chargers (second stint) Winter was signed by the San Diego Chargers in the time period preceding the 1992 NFL draft. He originally sat third-string on the depth chart, but later started during the season after Joe Phillips refused to agree to a contract and George Thornton did not play well. The University of Central Florida hired Winter as a defensive line coach for the 2012 season. Winter spent one season on the coaching staff and then departed, citing a lack of family time. Winter was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016.