Penn State safety KJ Winston Jr., talks injury, how he's helping the Lions still, and more

Penn State safety KJ Winston Jr., earned preseason All-American honors and was named a team captain entering the 2024 season. An exemplary 12-tackle, one-forced fumble performance against West Virginia in the opener did nothing to quell the belief that the Maryland native was tracking for plenty of postseason honors. However, just days after that win over the Mountaineers, he suffered an injury in practice. He attempted to give it a go in Week 2 against Bowling Green. But, after a quarter and one series, it became clear that he could not play through what ailed him. James Franklin said he had a long-term injury, and thus he would miss significant time, back on Sept. 18

“When it happened, it didn’t feel right,” Winston Jr., said Tuesday night after the Lions beat Boise State in a CFP quarterfinal round matchup. “I’m very in-tune with my body, and when I tried to keep going, it wasn’t feeling right. In that Bowling Green game, I tried to play through it, and I felt it again in the game, and I was like, I knew something wasn’t right. And then, you know, we took the procedures, got X-rays and everything. And the rest is [history].”

Winston Jr., who is already off to the 2025 NFL Draft, did not disclose the nature of his injury. He also did not say why he chose to move on instead of coming back to college for another year. But, whatever procedure he had done to fix the issue led to him wearing a large brace over his right leg in early November. He told BWI that, once the procedure was done, his chance of returning this season was eliminated regardless of how far the team’s postseason run might last.

Winston Jr., talks emotions of missing this Penn State season and how he’s still helping the team

“It was so hard for me,” Winston Jr., said. “I never expected to play my first game and then the next week in practice I was going to get hurt. But you know, I had to come back. Started this season off [and] my motivation was to be there for my teammates and be a leader on this team, no matter whether I’m on the field or not. I had to commit to that and make sure I’m here when [we’re] on the sideline and guys get frustrated. I got to be there to calm them down.

“Or, you know, the energy is low. I got to be there to lift it up. And that’s what I owe to them. I love these guys, and they love me back. And I feel that genuine love all the time. And that’s what they deserve as well.”

Winston Jr. did leave the program for a bit due to how hard it was to get around while recovering from the injury. But, he’s back in town now and was on the sideline at the Fiesta Bowl. At one point, he was seen calming down quarterback Drew Allar. And, he was a sounding board for many others. It’s a way for No. 2 to continue on in his captain role while not being on the field with his teammates for the final snaps of this season, however many more there may be, before Winston Jr., fully turns his focus toward the pros.

More: How did Penn State’s players perform vs. Boise State? PFF Snap Counts & Grades

“Our main thing is, if we do our job, everybody does their job at a high, efficient rate, it’s hard to beat us as a defense,” Winston Jr., said. “It’s hard score on us as a defense. So if everybody controls what they can control, fly around to the ball, all 11, that’s what we got to do. And we got to make sure we take it day by day. It’s easy to fall in the trap of like, ‘we’re right there next to the national championship.’

“But, we’re not right there. We got to focus on this next game. Because it’s going to be a very great opponent between Georgia and Notre Dame. Either one, no matter who it is, it’s going to be a very great opponent. We got to make sure we focus on that and make sure we’re prepared for that.”