The health of one of Penn State’s key defensive weapons is up in the air ahead of a matchup with Kent State on Saturday. Kevin Winston Jr., a starting safety and team captain, exited the last week’s game against Bowling Green early in the second quarter, and James Franklin was unable to provide an update on Winston’s status on Monday.
“I don’t really have any new information to share with you guys at this stage. I probably will, I would think, probably post-practice when I see you guys later in the week,” Franklin said.
Winston was not seen at the Nittany Lions’ most recent practice viewing session this past Wednesday. His absence comes two weeks after winning the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Week following Penn State’s season opening win at West Virginia, a game in which Winston tallied a career-high 12 tackles and forced a fumble.
If Winston is unable to play this weekend, it’s likely that Penn State would revert to just two starting safeties: Jaylen Reed and Zakee Wheatley. The plan under new defensive coordinator Tom Allen was to play Reed at nickel corner, coined the ‘Lion,’ and start Winston and Wheatley at true safety spots.
It’s likely that cornerback Cam Miller would take over at Reed’s nickel spot if Reed moves back to safety. And whether Winston is ready to play or not, it’s become critical that the Nittany Lions find depth at position. Franklin and safeties coach Anthony Poindexter have looked toward true freshman Dejuan Lane to play an expanded role.
“Dae Dae is going to be really important this week, and obviously moving forward, as well. He’s a guy that we’ve been trying to get more involved,” Franklin said. “We had planned on playing him more last week. It didn’t play out that way, but he’s probably the guy that I would say our focus is on.”
Lane is one of only three freshmen, alongside offensive lineman Cooper Cousins and tight end Luke Reynolds, who have played for Penn State this season. Lane played three snaps against the Mountaineers and briefly on special teams last week.
“Obviously, when you’re talking about Jay Reed and Zakee, those two guys played a ton of football for us, and will need to continue,” Franklin said. “Dae Dae’s another guy that we’ve been trying to get more reps and more experience.”
Lane is likely to see more playing time in the event that Winston is not 100% healthy come Saturday, but the Nittany Lions will also need to rely on a few more safeties to truly feel comfortable in their depth at the position. Some other names to watch for are redshirt senior Tyrece Mills and redshirt freshman Lamont Payne.
“We’ll see, timing wise, how this whole thing will play out. But definitely for the short term, we’re going to have to develop some more guys,” Franklin said.
