Penn State talented player left the Nittany Lions’ Week 2 victory over Bowling Green due to an injury, and after a bye week, he will be sidelined for an extended period. Head coach James Franklin announced that Winston will miss the Week 4 game against Kent State due to what he described as a “long-term” injury.
Franklin did not provide a timeline for Winston’s recovery or details about the injury sustained during the Bowling Green game.
The 6-foot-2, 208-pound standout defensive back led Penn State with 60 tackles in 2023, along with five pass breakups, one interception, and two fumble recoveries. In just over a game and a quarter of the 2024 season, Winston had already recorded 13 tackles and a forced fumble after a strong performance in the season opener against West Virginia.
This offseason, former Indiana head coach Tom Allen took over as Penn State’s defensive coordinator, replacing Manny Diaz, who became the head coach at Duke. Allen favors a scheme featuring three safeties, utilizing Winston and Zakee Wheatley in deep coverage, while Jaylen Reed, who usually partners with Winston in the defensive backfield, plays closer to the line in a nickel cornerback role he refers to as the “lion” position.
Franklin highlighted two freshmen, safety Dejuan Lane and cornerback Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, as the most likely candidates to take on more playing time in Winston’s absence.
Without Winston, Allen has two main options for his defense. He can either keep Reed in the “lion” role, where he performed well against West Virginia, and rely on Lane as a deep safety alongside Wheatley, or he can move Reed to Winston’s position and shift junior cornerback Cam Miller to the “lion” spot.
In Week 2, Allen chose the second option, but Miller’s performance might have prompted Franklin to consider Lane and Belgrave-Shorter more seriously. Miller played 27 snaps in the slot and nine in the box, allowing all six targets to be completed against him. He struggled against Bowling Green tight end Harold Fannin Jr., who recorded 11 catches for 137 yards and a touchdown.
Kent State is coming off a 71-0 loss to Tennessee, making this an ideal chance for Allen to experiment defensively and solidify the lineup before Big Ten play starts in Week 5.
Although the Nittany Lions faced challenges against Bowling Green both with and without Winston, losing such a key playmaker will be significant. Unless the defensive line can start dominating, it will be difficult for Penn State to maintain a top-10 defense for the second consecutive season.
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