What's the latest on Penn State defender KJ Winston Jr., and the Lions' safeties room?
Penn State coach James Franklin does not yet have an update on the status of junior safety KJ Winston Jr., as the Nittany Lions kick off Kent State week. The Maryland native played in the first quarter of the team’s win over Bowling Green but then stood on the sideline for most of the second quarter and all of the second half in pads but without his helmet. After the win over the Falcons, Franklin had no immediate news on the defender’s status, and he said Monday that he won’t have more information on the preseason All-Big Ten selection, according to multiple media outlets, until later in the week.
“I don’t really have any new information to share with you guys at this stage,” Franklin said. “I probably will, I would think, probably post practice, when I see you guys [Wednesday night].”
If Winston Jr., is unavailable against the Golden Flashes (3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network), it will lead to more reps for Jaylen Reed and Zakee Wheatley. Both took on significantly more reps against Bowling Green with Winston Jr., sidelined, and cornerback Cam Miller moved to the ‘Lion’ position in defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s 4-2-5 look. Penn State is trying to develop a fourth safety behind the top three, and the focus is on freshman Dejuan Lane to become that player.
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“Dae Dae Lane is the next guy that we’ve been trying to get to get reps for,” Franklin said. “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. Dae Dae is another guy that we’ve been trying to get more reps and more experience. That’ll be important. But, we’re going to have to develop a few more guys.
“We’ll see timing wise how this whole thing will play out. But definitely, for short term, we’re going to have to develop some more guys. So 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. We had planned on playing him more [against Bowling Green]. Didn’t play out that way, but, but he’s probably the guy that I would say our focus is on the most right now.”
Penn State will not need to rush Winston Jr., back to beat the Golden Flashes. So, if he is out, Lane will see more time than expected, and it will be interesting to see which other safeties earn opportunities when it comes time to give Reed and/or Wheatley a rest.
