Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week award goes to Kevin Winston Jr.

Kevin Winston Jr. of Penn State was named the Big Ten Conference defensive player of the week.

On Monday, the Big Ten Conference announced their awards for Week One of the season. To the surprise of no one, Kevin Winston Jr. of the Penn State Nittany Lions was chosen as the defensive player of the week.

Winston Jr. anchored a Penn State defense that allowed just 12 points in a road win at West Virginia. In the game, he came away with 12 tackles and forced a fumble as well. Six of the tackles were solo, while five were assists. Penn State won the game 34-12 to start the season 1-0.

The safety is from Columbia, Maryland, and has been with Penn State since 2022. Before his college career, he played high school football at DeMatha Catholic High School. Last season, he started 13 games and had 61 tackles and an interception.

The Nittany Lions are now ready to head home for their Week Two tilt against Bowling Green. Penn State will start their Big Ten Conference portion of the 2024 schedule on September 28th, at home against the Fighting Illini of Illinois.