Penn State will not be returning one of its top defensive players from injury for the College Football Playoff. Safety Kevin Winston Jr., a team captain and all-Big Ten honoree who sustained a long-term injury against Bowling Green on Sept. 7, will not be back this year, James Franklin said on Sunday.
Winston appeared in just one full game this season, tallying 12 total tackles and a forced fumble in a season-opening victory at West Virginia. It was a performance that earned him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.
After a breakout 2023 season, Winston entered the year with glowing grades from NFL Draft analysts. It’s unclear if Winston, who was once projected as a first or second-round draft prospect, will take that route or return for his senior season in 2025.
On a more positive note, Franklin seems pleased with the majority of his roster from a health perspective after the Nittany Lions’ 45-37 loss to Oregon in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship. That’s a promising sign ahead of the College Football Playoff, which could add four more games to the team’s schedule.
“We came out of that game pretty healthy. Didn’t have a whole lot of issues,” Franklin said. … We came out of it pretty good. So, good place. I don’t really see us getting anybody back that’s been out, but in terms of who we played with this past week, we were able to come out of that game fairly healthy.”
There are eight other players out who were ruled inactive against the Ducks, most having sustained long-term injuries at some point this season: offensive tackle Anthony Donkoh, defensive tackle Alonzo Ford Jr., tight end Andrew Rappleyea, defensive end Zuriah Fisher, linebacker Keon Wylie, wide receiver Kaden Saunders, running back Cam Wallace and defensive tackle Kaleb Artis.
The No. 6 seed Nittany Lions will host No. 11 seed SMU for a first-round playoff game at noon on Dec. 21.
