Winston Venable

Winston Venable
No. 31     Montreal Alouettes

Venable in the 2011 NFL season.
Date of birth (1987-03-31) March 31, 1987
Place of birth San Rafael, California
Career information
Status Active
CFL status International
Position(s) LB
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg)
College Boise State
Career history
As player
2011–2012 Chicago Bears
2012–present Montreal Alouettes
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star 2015
CFL East All-Star 2015
Career stats
Tackles 5
Interceptions 0
Passes defensed 0

Winston Venable (born March 31, 1987) is an American football linebacker for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He previously played college football for Boise State University and was a member of the NFL Chicago Bears team in 2011. He is the son of former Major League Baseball (MLB) player Max Venable as well as the younger brother of current MLB player Will Venable.

High school and college career

Venable attended San Rafael High School before transferring to St. Thomas More school in Oakdale, CT. He then went on to Glendale Community College before transferring to Boise State in the spring of 2009. After transferring, Venable immediately earned a spot on the Broncos roster for the upcoming season.[1] He would go on to start all 14 games that season.[2] He first made an impact in an early season game against Fresno State when he recorded the first score of the game off a 30-yard interception returned for a touchdown.[3] He is remembered by many fans for his hit on Fresno quarterback Ryan Colburn later in that same game, in which he launched himself head first, leaping over a would-be blocker, narrowly missing a sack.[4]

2010 Fiesta Bowl

After an undefeated regular season the Broncos were matched up against fellow undefeated TCU to play in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Despite being a relatively low scoring game, the final minutes became exciting after a fake punt attempt by the Broncos led to a score. With a 17-10 lead, 1:06 remaining on the clock and TCU on their own 1-yard line, the Broncos simply needed to prevent a touchdown. But TCU, led by quarterback Andy Dalton covered nearly 60 yards in under 45 seconds, setting themselves up for a potential game tying score. However, on the ensuing play Dalton threw a pass towards the left sideline which was intercepted by Venable to seal the victory.[5]

Professional career

On July 27, 2011, following the resolution of a labor dispute between the NFL Players Association and team owners, Venable was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent.[6] On September 9, 2011 Venable was fined $20,000 by the NFL for a hit he delivered on Cleveland Browns receiver Demetrius Williams in the teams final preseason game.[7] On May 3, 2012, the Bears decided to waive him after selecting free safety Brandon Hardin in the 2012 NFL Draft.[8] Despite his short tenure on the Bears, Venable managed to carry over the reputation as a hard-hitting defensive back he had earned in college. Said Lance Briggs when discussing the Bears lack of consistency at the safety position during the 2011 season "So between those guys, and whoever gets back there and plays, even if it's Winston Venable, I know one thing that Winston's going to do. He's going to hit somebody. So we're confident in the guys we have back there."[9]

On October 3, 2012, Venable signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. In 2014, he amassed 52 defensive tackles including a career-high of nine in a game against the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Venable also recovered a league-high four fumbles and recorded 14 special teams tackles.

References

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