Penn State standout safety and team captain Kevin Winston Jr. only appeared in two games this season for the Nittany Lions, and following the Bowling Green victory, fans were unaware of the injury that he sustained.
On Thursday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that Winston is declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft, while revealing the specifics of Winston’s injury.
Penn State captain and All Big-Ten safety Kevin Winston Jr. has declared for the NFL draft. Winston suffered a partially-torn ACL during a Week 2 practice that ended his season. Cowboys head team physician Dr. Dan Cooper performed surgery on Winston’s knee, and he is on pace to… pic.twitter.com/Wq52o5TsYx
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 12, 2024
He partially tore his ACL in a week two practice prior to the Bowling Green week two matchup. It appears that Winston attempted to play through the sustained injury, but ended up only logging 14 snaps in the contest.
Winston was a crushing loss for Penn State, and it was an injury that forced senior Jaylen Reed out of the slot cornerback position and back to his original safety position.
Winston had high expectations heading into this year, as he earned All-Big Ten honorable mentions during his first season in the starting lineup as a sophomore. He ended last season with 60 total tackles, one interception, two fumble recoveries, three tackles for loss and five passes defensed. Winston received numerous first-round grades for the 2025 NFL Draft prior to the injury, and Schefter reporting that he should be cleared for pre-draft drills is great news.
On Tankathon.com, Winston is currently ranked as the 70th player on their big board. It’s too early to tell if he will be able to appear at the NFL combine, but if he impresses at the Penn State pro day, his draft stock could soar to nearly where it once was.