Michigan's Chase Winovich ready to play like a 'beast'

Michigan defensive end Chase Winovich on hearing criticism of the team. Angelique S. Chengelis, The Detroit News

(Photo: David Guralnick, Detroit News)It was a 60-second FaceTime chat, short and sweet, but long enough for Chase Winovich to, even a week later, feel emotional about conversing with Conor McGregor, the Irish UFC fighter he has long admired and often quotes.

Winovich, entering his final season at Michigan after struggling with the decision to stay or leave for the NFL, said he went through a number of “channels” before that one-minute FaceTime meeting.

“It was just a cool, really cool experience,” Winovich said at Big Ten media days last week. “I’ve always been a huge admirer of…