Lunch has become the most important meal of the day in Lafayette as Lunch Winfield is the next QB1 for UL football.
For the third time this season, Louisiana football has suited up a new quarterback following a season-ending injury to Walker Howard and after a shaky start for backup quarterback Daniel Beale.
Now, it's third stringer Lunch Winfield’s turn to be at the helm of the Cajuns’ offense on the heels of a historic comeback win over Marshall in Week 5. The 6-foot-1, 217-pound sophomore came alive in the contest, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for three — including the game-winning score in double overtime.
After a performance like that, Winfield earned his new QB1 role and is preparing to make his first collegiate start next week against James Madison.
“It’s been a long journey, I mean since I was young it’s like always something, something always going to happen and if you think everything’s just gonna be perfect — you’re just wrong,” Winfield said. “So I just take it a step at a time and it’s like if it’s not there right now, God has a plan for you. You just got to follow the plan no matter how depressing it looks.”
An insatiable hunger
When Winfield was months old, it was clear he had that hunger in him — hence his nickname, Lunch.
“My grandfather gave me my nickname when I was young,” Winfield said. “He had his lunch, I think it was a big chicken wing, and he turned away and I ate the whole thing. After that day, he was calling me lunch and it stuck with me till this day.”
Winfield isn’t stealing anyone’s lunch these days, but he has showcased he can feast on defenders with his elusive speed and dual-threat ability. Against the Thundering Herd, he rushed for a team-high 129 yards and three touchdowns moving the chains at will with his legs.
This is second nature for him, as he did the same in high school at Lutcher. He ended his senior campaign accounting for 4,657 yards and 70 touchdowns — helping his team snag their ninth LHSAA State championship in school history.
“A lot of people don’t realize he’s been doing this since high school,” UL football running back Bill Davis said. “I wouldn’t want to call him like Lamar Jackson, because I don’t wanna buck his head up, but him having that ability to run just makes it so much easier on us. Defenses have to contain that, they can’t just all focus on us.”
Working while he waited
While Week 5’s heroics vs. Marshall are what put Winfield on the radar to be the next QB1 for the Cajuns, it was years of working while he waited to get him there. As an incoming freshman, Winfield worked his way up the depth chart — serving as a backup to Chandler Fields in the final four games of the season. Last season, he redshirted after dealing with an on-the-nerve entrapment injury in his elbow, causing him to miss the entire regular season.
“It was pretty hard to grasp, but I just took it day by day and understood that it’s life and things happen,” Winfield said of his injury last season. “It’s either you gonna go into it with a good attitude or a bad attitude but you got to get through it. It was a good humbling, great lesson I learned in life.”
Throughout his recovery, Winfield remained his smiley and upbeat self — working his way back to the field in the Cajuns’ bowl game vs TCU last year. Even after this season’s preseason camp, he was designated as the third stringer behind Howard and Beale, Winfield never stopped working for that possible opportunity and it showed against Marshall.
He and the Cajuns will hope for another solid outing for him as the meat of their Sun Belt Conference schedule is around the corner.
“If you’re working while you wait, everything will fall in place,” Winfield said. “I feel like when I get out there on the field I’m just happy so it’s like I play freely. If there’s nothing there I’m just gonna go make something happen.”
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: What to know about Lunch Winfield, UL football's new starting QB
Category: General Sports
