Kevin Winston Jr.’s journey led to becoming a Penn State captain, one of college football’s top safeties
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Kevin Winston Sr. and his wife, Natasha, were in town last Saturday when they received a text from a Penn State football staffer, asking them to go to James Franklin’s office after watching practice. Initially, they wondered what their son — star safety Kevin Winston Jr. — might have done wrong. They were assured it was nothing bad. In fact, it was the complete opposite.
Franklin gathered six players and their families inside the Lasch Building to inform them they would captain the Nittany Lions this season. Winston was among those voted by his teammates and coaches to lead Penn State ahead of a high-stakes campaign. The magnitude of the honor wasn’t lost on him, and it was appreciated by his parents, too.
“It was super exciting,” Winston Sr. told PennLive. “He’s been locked in since he’s been playing football at 6 years old. Sometimes he’s been overshadowed. Sometimes he hasn’t gotten the recognition. … So this was something he was working toward. He takes a great deal of pride in it. He was the captain of his youth team, a captain in high school, and he really wanted to be a captain at Penn State. It’s a dream come true to see him taking that next step.”
Winston is poised to take the next step in more ways than one in 2024. A breakout star on the Nittany Lions’ nationally-ranked defense last year, Winston was the team’s leading tackler in his first season as a full-time starter. He had five pass breakups, 2 1/2 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and an interception, making his presence felt around the ball at all times.
Winston’s superb play generated national buzz heading into the offseason. National outlets like Pro Football Focus pegged the hard-hitting junior as a possible first-round pick in the 2025 draft. It’s not far-fetched to say Winston has legitimate All-American potential this year.
Winston’s rise to this point as a captain and one of the best safeties in college football has seemingly been a quick one. But it doesn’t come as a surprise to those who know him best.
Winston made his love for football obvious at an early age. Winston Sr. remembers his 3-year-old son using a cardboard box as a helmet. At the playground, he tackled other children — not siblings or friends, but complete strangers, eliciting a sincere but often-used apology to other parents: We’re sorry. He has home training. He just loves football.
Winston Sr. laughed: “He’d be taking out a kid who just wants to slide down the slide.”
Laying the lumber at a young age, Winston was just trying to emulate his father. Winston Sr. was a defensive end at James Madison when he and his wife had “KJ.” Natasha often brought their son to JMU’s practices; when Winston missed practice, he cried to no end. After practice, instead of partying like most college kids, Winston Sr. ran his son through drills at home.
A few years later, Winston started playing little league tackle football. He played running back and safety in fall and indoor leagues for the Silver Spring Saints in Maryland from 6 to 14 years old. The team accumulated a 153-2 record in that span with Winston leading the way.
Winston took football seriously. He went to a DeMatha High School camp the summer before seventh grade and decided he wanted to play for the Maryland powerhouse. His dad — and his middle school vice principal at Washington Jesuit Academy — urged him to keep his options open. But Winston liked the coaches. He liked the setup. He knew where he wanted to go and remained steadfast in his belief.
It was the same with Penn State. In 2018, Winston participated in LaVar Arrington’s A11 All-Star Bowl, a showcase for the best eighth-grade players in the country. The players practiced at Holuba Hall before taking the field at Beaver Stadium just before the Blue-White game. There, Winston met James Franklin for the first time, and he was sold.
“I want to go to Penn State,” Winston told his dad after the showcase. “This is where I want to be. I want to be here.”
Again, Winston’s father preached patience. He didn’t want Winston to close any doors as he developed into one of the best prospects in the region. Winston became a four-year letterwinner at DeMatha, a program that produced NFL stars like Chase Young and Brian Westbrook. He was offered a scholarship by Maryland after his freshman year and picked up offers from Michigan State and Syracuse shortly after his sophomore season.
But Winston was still waiting on Penn State. In May 2020, Winston received a call from then-tight ends coach and area recruiter Tyler Bowen, who offered the rising high school junior an opportunity to commit to Penn State. Winston didn’t rush into the decision — again, at the behest of his dad. He fielded offers from Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Ole Miss. Finally, in July 2021, Winston verbally committed to Penn State’s vaunted 2022 recruiting class.
By most standards, Winston was a star. He had offers from Power Five powerhouses. He was a four-star prospect. As a senior, he was the All-Met Defensive Player of the Year as a safety and first-team all-league as a wide receiver. And yet, Winston and his family believed he wasn’t properly rated by recruiting services. According to 247 Sports, Winston was the seventh-best player in Maryland and the 14th-best player in Penn State’s 2022 class.
“None of that stuff ultimately mattered to us,” Winston Sr. said. “But when you’re surrounded by it and those things matter to other people, he felt overshadowed.”
Winston used it as motivation when he arrived at Penn State. He appeared in 12 games and flashed as a true freshman. He continued to push himself, securing the starting job as a sophomore and beating out veteran incumbent Keaton Ellis. And now, he’s one of the best at his position, the linchpin of the Nittany Lions’ secondary and a captain.
Franklin said earlier in preseason camp that Winston has a “very special and bright future.” Why? Because he is, as Franklin said, “totally locked in and totally focused.”
If you ask Winston Sr., he’ll tell you his son has always been that way. He’s always loved the game and taken it to heart. Now, that approach is setting Winston up for a big 2024 season.
“The standard he places upon himself, he’s relentless,” defensive coordinator Tom Allen said. “He’s so hard on himself. He’s such a perfectionist. … He elevates everybody around him. To me, that’s what great leaders do and what great players do. It doesn’t matter if it’s in the weight room, during jog throughs, during practice, in the locker room. He’s earned that respect.”