INDIANAPOLIS — Kevin Winston Jr. was on a path toward superstardom. He was a preseason All-American safety, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick and a Penn State team captain. Winston was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Week in the Nittany Lions’ first game of 2024. And then, suddenly, the path ventured sideways into a world of introspection and recovery.
Winston thought it was just a “tweak,” something he could play through against Bowling Green on Sept. 7. But a few plays into that game, he sidelined himself. After further testing, it was revealed that Winston had partially torn his ACL. A month later, he had surgery. Winston’s junior year, which began with overwhelming anticipation, was over just after it began.
It’s been six months since Winston embarked on the most difficult journey of his career. It was understandably challenging at first, purely in accepting the reality of his situation. But Winston quickly pivoted. He began to focus on what he could control, attacking his rehab as hard as he would his game preparation. And if he had it his way, Winston wouldn’t change a thing.
“I’m blessed that it happened to me,” Winston said at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday. “I don’t regret anything that happened and I don’t wish anything different, because I think throughout this process, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I appreciate things more than I ever had, and I’m actually blessed that it happened to me.”
Winston told fellow safety Ji’Ayir Brown on his first day of workouts that he’d be in his right pocket throughout every rep and every workout. He handled his craft like a professional and wanted to look after a veteran who did, as well. Brown eventually entered the NFL, where he’s now a staple of the San Francisco 49er’s defense. Winston has been waiting to follow in his footsteps since they met.
But what exactly makes an NFL player? The dream is alive in the heart of every young football player, but only so few actually achieve it. Even fewer make the dream last over the course of a career. It’s not talent alone. It’s something else, something Winston has searched for since the day he first held the pigskin. Now, through challenging circumstances, he’s found it.
“I had to mentally make sure I was ready for the NFL. If you’re not mentally strong and mentally ready for the NFL, you won’t last,” Winston said. “The guys who are mentally weak, they won’t last in the league, and I had to make sure that I was there. I’ve been preparing my mental and my habits and my routine since I was a freshman in college.”
Winston won’t participate in on-field drills at the combine, but plans to run the 40-yard dash at Penn State’s Pro Day on March 28. He’s yet not fully healthy, but projects to be 100% by the start of NFL training camp. Winston is not likely to hear his name called in the first round of April’s draft, as many had projected last summer. But that hardly matters to him.
There’s no one with more confidence in Winston than himself. He’s battled through adversity, and grown from it. At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, Winston possesses the physical tangibles to make an immediate impact at the next level. But the skill he’s developed within his own mind is the one that may separate him from his peers. His path is leading him back to the light.
“The injury doesn’t change a thing. If I was playing this junior season, I would’ve shown exactly what I was supposed to show and there would have been no doubt in anybody’s mind I was a first-round talent,” Winston said. “When I come back, you guys will see everything and more of that. And there’s no doubt in my mind, I’ll make sure that everybody sees it. The injury is not changing anything.”
