Is Kevin Winston Jr. playing vs. Illinois? Full Penn State injury report for Week 5

Penn State junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. left the Nittany Lion’s Week 2 win over Bowling Green with an apparent injury and after a Week 3 bye, Winston missed Penn State’s 56-0 win over Kent State last Saturday. Now, it appears that James Franklin’s team and defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s unit will be without one of its best players for the team’s Big Ten opener. 

On Saturday night, No. 9 Penn State will host No. 19 Illinois at Beaver Stadium and Winston will miss the game with what Franklin has called a “long-term” injury. The Nittany Lions will also be without Andrew Rappleyea. The young tight end was unable to play against Kent State and could be lost for the season. 

Franklin and his coaching staff have had time to prepare for life without Winston and Rappleyea, a plan that includes two true freshmen, safety Dejuan Lane and tight end Luke Reynolds. However, there hasn’t been as much time to develop a plan at linebacker where the Nittany Lions could be without Dom DeLuca in Week 5. 

DeLuca left the win over Kent State and was reportedly not at practice on Wednesday. The redshirt junior’s status is unknown.

So far this season, DeLuca has played 71 snaps, the third most among Penn State’s linebacker group which includes Kobe King, Tony Rojas, and Tyler Elsdon, who should see an uptick in opportunity if DeLuca is sidelined. Beyond Elsdon, another true freshman could begin to see the field. Anthony Speca played 19 snaps against Kent State in his collegiate debut and is the likely depth piece at the second level of Allen’s defense. 

Here is Penn State’s injury report for Week 5. 

Penn State Week 5 injury report vs. Illinois:

• Andrew Rappleya, TE: OUT
• Kevin Winston Jr. S: OUT
• Dominic DeLuca , LB: Questionable (undisclosed)
• Peter Gonzalez, WR: Questionable (undisclosed)
• De’Andre Cook, DL: Questionable (undisclosed)
• Kari Jackson, LB: Questionable (undisclosed)
• Jaxon Smolik, QB: Questionable (undisclosed)