Penn State S Kevin Winston Jr. on if He’s a 1st-Round Talent: ‘No Question’

Little did Winston or anybody else know that it would be his last full game at Penn State.

The next week, while Penn State was preparing  for Bowling Green, Winston suffered what was later diagnosed as a partially-torn ACL.

Injury Specifics for Penn State S KJ Winston Revealed

He tried to play that Saturday but only made it 14 snaps.

Not wanting to risk a full tear, Winston didn’t play the rest of the season.

The next time he plays, it will be for an NFL team, and although Winston is projected to go on Day 2, Winston knows he’s capable of providing first-round value.

“Yes I do, no question,” Winston told reporters at his NFL Combine presser Thursday in Indianapolis. “The injury doesn’t change a thing. If I would have played this junior season, I would have showed exactly what I was supposed to show and there would have been no doubt in anybody’s mind that I was a first-round talent. When I come back, you guys are going to see everything and more or that and there’s no doubt in my mind, I’ll make sure that everybody sees it. This injury is not changing anything, but all I can do is control what I control, and what I control is when I get back, it’s going to be a much better version of me.”

WHAT A TEAM WOULD BE GETTING

Penn State’s Kevin Winston Jr. was ruled out indefinitely with a long-term injury earlier this week.

So what would an NFL team be getting in Winston?

“First, they’re getting a guy that loves the game,” he said. “I truly love football, and there’s no doubt in my mind, no doubt about thar and I don’t take this game for granted. It shows in the manner of which I play. They’re getting a guy that’s a leader, somebody that will come in right away and (be) an example of how things should be done and I’ll uplift the people around me, whether it’s my teammates, coaches or people in the building, I bring the best out of everybody around me and that’s a guy that would do that.”

On the field, wherever the ball is, that’s there Winston is going to be.

“I truly believe that when I’m on the football field, I’ll always be near the ball,” he said. “I’ll always be flying around and I’m truly going to make plays and be near the ball. Ball destruction is a big thing I’m about and that’s what I would do.”

Something else Winston takes pride in is his ability to make tackles.

He hates missing them and doesn’t do it very often.

In 2023, he led Penn State with 60 tackles and, per ProFootballFocus, didn’t miss a single one.

PFF gave him a tackling grade of 92.3, so, yeah, he knew what he was doing.

“I don’t miss tackles,” he said. “I’m not used to missing tackles and it’s a standard for me. When the ball gets to the second level, I’m going to be the guy to get them down.”

Winston has taken pride in tackling since he was a little kid and attributes this to his father.

“The way he raised me as a tackler, the way he coached me up,” he said. “When you hit a dude, he should feel it every time, and a lot of times, you shouldn’t miss any tackles as a safety. Coming (to) this level, the greatest safeties don’t miss many tackles. They’re the guys that get it on the ground, save the team, make sure we can live another down. I take big pride in that and I don’t take missed tackles lightly.”

‘I’M BLESSED THAT IT HAPPENED TO ME

MORGANTOWN, WV – AUGUST 31: West Virginia Mountaineers running back Jahiem White (1) is tackled by Penn State Nittany Lions safety Kevin Winston Jr. (2) during the college football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the West Virginia Mountaineers on August 31, 2024 at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, WV. (Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire)

In a just world, the West Virginia game should have been just the beginning for Winston in 2024.

Instead, it ended up being the end.

“I think about it all the time,” he said. “I watch that game all the time. Getting away from football and not playing for a long time, I make sure to keep watching my film. You never want to lose confidence. You want to make sure you keep that going and throughout this process, I’ve never lost confidence and my whole confidence has been boosted because of how strong my mentality is and people around me that I have around me.”

As unfortunate as Winston’s situation was, he wouldn’t change it.

Why?

Because it taught him to appreciate what he has, and what he has.

“I’m blessed that it happened to me,” he said. “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.”