Penn State may be forced to rely on a true freshman to fill a key spot on defense

Penn State has plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball, but Kevin Winston Jr. could be defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s biggest weapon. Winston has recorded 13 tackles, a forced fumble, and a pressure through the first two games of the season despite the junior safety playing just 14 total snaps in Week 2 against Bowling Green. 

After being named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against West Virginia in Week 1 Winston left the Nittany Lion’s home opener with an injury and head coach James Franklin hasn’t been able to provide the media with much of an update on his status. However, Franklin did at true freshman safety Dejuan Lane becoming a more significant piece of the puzzle in Week 4 against Kent State. 

“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,” Franklin told the assembled media coming out of his team’s Week 3 bye. “We had planned on him playing more last week. It didn't play out that way, but he’s probably the guy that I would say our focus is on. 

Lane is one of two Penn State true freshmen who were given the “green light” to burn their redshirts in the preseason. Lane has played just three snaps through his first two games and Cooper Cousins, the other true freshman that Franklin planned on playing in more than four games in 2024, has played 20 with appearances in both games. After redshirt freshman tight end Andrew Rappleyea suffered a significant injury, true freshman tight end Luke Reynolds was also given a “green light” this week. 

The biggest change in Penn State’s transition from Manny Diaz to Tom Allen on defense has been the safety usage. Allen has featured Jaylen Reed at slot cornerback or the “lion” position while playing Winston and Zakee Wheatley as traditional deep safeties. If Winston does miss Week 4, Reed would likely move back to his traditional safety role with veteran cornerback Cam Miller sliding in to play nickel corner or “lion.” 

That solution would keep SEC transfers Jalen Kimber and A.J. Harris as Penn State’s starting outside cornerbacks and protect Lane from taking on a full-time role in his first significant action. Though, that doesn’t mean that the four-star from Baltimore won’t get a chance to showcase his talent against a Kent State team that is 0-3 and coming off a 71-0 loss to Tennessee.