Tag: Kevin Winston Jr.

13 Penn State players appear on Senior Bowl watch list for 2024

A large number of Penn State players are on this year’s Senior Bowl watch list.

Penn State has historically been productive when it comes to manufacturing talent for the next level in the NFL, and this year’s roster is not short on potential NFL talent. One of the highlights of the draft cycle is the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, which invites the nation’s top seniors to participate in one of the premier scouting events outside of the annual NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. An invite to the Senior Bowl is cherished and must be earned, and is a sign of the respect the NFL draft and scouting community holds for a player. It is a great tryout in front of the NFL world and can dramatically impact a player’s draft stock.

The Senior Bowl released its watch list of players for the upcoming season, and Penn State was well represented with players that could eventually be invited to participate in the top senior all-star game leading up to the NFL draft.

The full list of Penn State players appearing on the watch list includes:

  • [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag], QB
  • [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag], RB
  • [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], DL
  • [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag], DL
  • [autotag]Julian Fleming[/autotag], WR
  • [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag], LB
  • [autotag]JB Nelson[/autotag], OL
  • [autotag]Jaylen Reed[/autotag], DB
  • [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag], RB
  • [autotag]Tyler Warren[/autotag], TE
  • [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr.[/autotag], DB
  • [autotag]Sal Wormley[/autotag], OL
  • [autotag]Nolan Rucci[/autotag], OL

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

Penn State names team captains for 2024

Penn State will have these six players serve as team captains for this season.

As the days inch closer to the start of a brand new Penn State football season, team captains for the 2024 season have been officially annoucned. Penn State will have six team captains for the upcoming college football season with two offensive players, three defensive players, and a special teams player.

Penn State head coach James Franklin annoucned his team captains for 2024 will be quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag], offensive lineman [autotag]Nick Dawkins[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] and [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag], safety [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr.[/autotag], and punter [autotag]Riley Thompson[/autotag].

Of the six team captains, DeLuca is the only player who served as a team captain in 2023. DeLuca is a former walk-on player who has worked his way up the ranks within the program from special teams contributor to starting linebacker.

Penn State will open the 2024 season with a road game at West Virginia on Saturday, Aug. 31. You can see the full Penn State schedule here and download a schedule wallpaper for your smartphone.

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

Abdul Carter and Kevin Winston Jr. named on Bednarik Award watch list

Penn State has four all-time Bednarik Award winners. Will eihter of these two watch list players be the fifth?

College football’s award watch list season is drawing near a close, but a couple of Penn State players managed to get their names on a notable watch list this week. Defensive end Abdul Carter and safety Kevin Winston Jr. were each named on this year’s watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which honors the nation’s top defensive player by the Maxwell Football Club.

Carter has also appeared on the watch lists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and the Walter Camp Player of the Year. Carter made a notable offseason move from linebacker to defensive end, although head coach James Franklin has suggested fans will see Carter play multiple positions this season depending on what the defense needs.

Penn State has had three players combine for four all-time Bednarik Awards in program history. LaVar Arrington was the first Nittany Lion to win the award in 1999. Paul Posluszny won back-to-back Bednarik Awards in 2005 and 2006 to become the second two-time and back-to-back winner of the award (Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald won the first two Bednarik Awards in 1995 and 1996). Dan Conner made it three Bednarik Awards in a row with his honor in 2007.

Last year’s winner of the Bednarik Award was NC State linebacker Payton Wilson (now with the Pittsburgh Steelers). The last Big Ten player to win the Bednarik Award was Ohio State defensive end Chase Young in 2019.

Other notable past winners of the Bednarik Award include Ndamukong Suh (Nebraska, 2009), Patrick Peterson (LSU, 2010) Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh, 2013), Julius Peppers (North Carolina, 2001), and Charles Woodson (Michigan, 1997).

Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

Three Penn State Nittany Lions among top-rated players in EA Sports College Football 25

Find out which three Penn State players are among EA Sports College Football 25 top 100 players.

Penn State has a trio of stars among the top 100-rated players in EA Sports College Football 25. Defensive end [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], safety [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr.[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Nicholas Singleton[/autotag] are the top Penn State players in the upcoming video game.

The game’s full player ratings were revealed on Wednesday, leading up to its much-anticipated launch date on July 16.

Related: Where Penn State ranks in EA Sports CFB 25

Carter is the No. 47 overall player in the game with a 91 overall rating. The linebacker-turned-defensive end is the No. 3 rated right end behind Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. (95 OVR) and Kentucky’s Deone Walker (93 OVR).

Kevin Winston Jr. is ranked ten slots lower than Carter at No. 57 overall with the same overall rating of 91 overall. Winston Jr. is the No. 2 overall strong safety behind only Virginia’s Jonas Sanker (92 OVR).

Meanwhile, Singleton is at No. 64 overall with the same overall rating of 91. Singleton is the No. 10 overall running back behind Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II (96 OVR), Ohio State’s Quinshon Judkins (95 OVR), North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton (93 OVR), Ohio State’s Treveyon Henderson (93 OVR), California’s Jaydn Ott (93 OVR), Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks (92 OVR), Kansas’s Devin Neal (92 OVR), Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty (91 OVR) and Michigan’s star cover athlete Donovan Edwards (91 OVR).

The best players in the game are Michigan’s star CB Will Johnson, LSU LT Will Campbell (96 OVR), Gordon II,  Pearce Jr., Ohio State safety Caleb Downs (95 OVR) and Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter (95 OVR).

Follow Charlie Strella on X, Threads, and Instagram.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

Penn State stars snubbed from PFF’s All-America team predictions

No Penn State players made Pro Football Focus’s preseason All-America team.

The gap between spring practice and the start of the college football season can be a trying time for fans of the sport, and there is little to do aside from predicting how the upcoming season may go. One of the common preseason debates is what players will take home All-American honors at the end of the year.

PFF analyst Mitch Kaiser recently threw his hat in the ring, predicting who he believes will be on the All-America team in college football next season. The list includes many of the top players from the 2023 season, which is to be expected with so much NFL-caliber talent returning for another season. Missing though from his list is two Penn State defenders who could be among the best players in the Big Ten this season.

Edge rusher [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr.[/autotag] could easily play themselves into first-round pick consideration in 2024, and doing so would mean potential All-American honors. Carter is still unproven as a full-time starter along the defensive line, so his name not appearing on Kaiser’s list makes sense. Winston Jr., however, has a strong case.

Kaiser went with Ohio State safety Caleb Downs and Georgia safety Malaki Starks, both excellent players coming off great seasons. Winston Jr. was even better according to their own grading system, however. He earned an 89.2 overall grade in 2023, second among returning safeties. His 92.8 tackling grade was the best in the country last season as well.

He didn’t play quite as many snaps as Downs or Starks, but I expect him to play more this season as the leader of the Nittany Lions secondary. If he can repeat his performance from last year while playing more snaps, he will be in the mix for an All-American spot.

Other players on Penn State’s roster have the talent to be All-Americans like Nicholas Singleton, Kobe King, and Tyler Warren, but they all have roadblocks to getting the statistics needed to be in consideration. Still, don’t be surprised if a few Nittany Lions are in the mix for a spot by the end of the season.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.

Best photos from Penn State’s win over Indiana

Here are the best photos from Penn State’s home win against Indiana in Week 9.

Penn State had to dig deep in the final minutes of a rough outing to find a way to a victory on Saturday afternoon against Indiana. Despite being a 31-point favorite, Penn State needed a long touchdown pass and a defensive safety to help seal the fate of this particular home game, a 33-24 victory.

Penn State’s defense gave up more points in a game than it has all season long, and the offense had their rough moments for a second consecutive week. But in the end, the Nittany Lions managed to come out on top and toss aside quite a gritty effort from the visiting Hoosiers.

Here are some of the best photos available from Penn State’s win over Indiana.

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 21 Kevin Winston Jr.

A snapshot look at Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr. heading into the 2023 season.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin.

Continuing this effort is a look at one of Penn State’s rising stars for the upcoming season, sophomore [autotag]Kevin Winston Jr[/autotag]. There is a lot of attention being paid to the Penn State defensive backs this season. Winston could find himself being an impactful player in the upcoming 2023 season.

Top 5 position battles heading into Penn State’s spring practices

These position battles will be heating up when Penn State opens spring football practices.

Penn State football is in a very good position overall with the way that James Franklin has this team constructed. Of course, there are a few positions that need to be sorted out still.

The position battles going on this spring will be what solidify the starting lineup. The team is very deep and whoever loses these battles shouldn’t be seen as someone not of the quality you expect from Penn State. Rather, it will speak volumes as to what the starters should be seen as which is top-level quality players.

Here are the top five position battles to monitor this spring.

2022 Penn State football: Nittany Lions’ safety preview

Ji’Ayir Brown’s return highlights the safety position overview for Penn State in 2022. Position overview…

Penn State is prepping for a season in which the program hopes to redeem itself on the national stage. After back-to-back seasons of mediocre results, Penn State is aiming to bounce back and prove themselves worthy of being in the Big Ten championship hunt, if not a little bit more.

Penn State kicks off the 2022 season with a Thursday night primetime matchup at Purdue on September 1. And for the second straight year, the depth and quality of the defensive secondary appears to be a strength for Penn State. The safety position loses a big-time player in Jaquan Brisker but the return of Ji’Ayir Brown coming off his breakout season is a big plus for the defense this fall.

Here is a look at the safeties on the roster for Penn State coming into the 2022 season.

Penn State’s Kevin Winston Jr. named Maryland player of the year

Mr. Football in Ohio? Check! Mr. Football in Pennsylvania? Check! Now Penn State has the Maryland player of the year in its Class of 2022 haul.

The state of Maryland has always been a key recruiting area for Penn State over the years, and now it has the top player from the state as a member of its Class of 2022. Kevin Winston Jr. was named the DC Touchdown Club’s Maryland high school player of the year.

Winston had previously been named the state’s defensive player of the year by The Washington Post. He is scheduled to join Penn State over the summer after not being one of the early enrollees this spring.

Winston Jr. will be honored by the DC Touchdown Club at an awards banquet later this month, on April 21, just two days before the Penn State Blue-White spring game. He will be honored along with one of Penn State head coach James Franklin’s former bosses, former Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen. At one point, Franklin was expected to succeed Friedgen at Maryland, but he ended up taking a head coaching position at Vanderbilt instead, which eventually led to Franklin’s arrival in Happy Valley. Former Washignton Redskin Joe Jacoby, Pro Player of the Year Trevon Diggs, and College Player of the Year Jordan Addison (Pitt wide receiver) will also be honored at the banquet.

Winston is the third player joining Penn State in 2022 to be coming off such a high honor from their home state. Quarterback [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] was named Mr. Football in the state of Ohio and running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] was named Mr. PA Football in Pennsylvania.

Three top players from three key recruiting states in one recruiting class? Yeah, that will work.

[mm-video type=video id=01fzjtf02kr6n9jn9w13 playlist_id=01ey902ehrs6e9bvhw player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fzjtf02kr6n9jn9w13/01fzjtf02kr6n9jn9w13-ec699aaeb2c7180c135f5a971d458096.jpg]

[listicle id=11388]

[lawrence-related id=11368,17708,16911,16464,15819]

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.