Penn State's Kevin Winston Jr. Selected as Bednarik POW

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The Maxwell Football Club named Penn State junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. as its Chuck Bednarik Player of the Week for Week 1 of the 2024 season on Sept. 3.

Winston's Career Day

Winston had a career high 12 tackles—the third time in Winston’s career at Penn State (1-0) where the safety notched 10 or more tackles—and a forced fumble against in the No. 8 Nittany Lions' 34-12 win against West Virginia on Aug. 31. Winston’s performance was a major factor for the Penn State defense that yielded only 85 rushing yards for West Virginia. The Penn State defense also held the Mountaineers to just 161 yards through the air and allowed quarterback Garrett Greene to complete just 54 percent of his passes. The Nittany Lions also didn't allow a passing touchdown on the day.

“All offseason we talked about coming out this year and making this a great year, and showing everybody what we can do,” Winston said after the game. “And, you know, we go to practice every day with that mindset.”

Currently Winston ranks nationally in the top 25 for tackles (No. 16) and No. 22 in solo tackles (7). Winston’s efforts were recognized by the Big Ten Conference as they named Winston its Defensive Player of the Week, the first Nittany Lions player to win the award since Ji’Ayir Brown for the week of Sept. 19, 2022.

Entering the 2024 season, Winston was named by the Maxwell Football Club to its Chuck Bednarik Watch List. Pro Football Focus ranked Winston as the No. 4 overall safety. Part of the high praised Winston has garnered is that he has not missed a tackle during his two-plus seasons at Penn State. Last season, Winston started all 13 games at safety, leading the team with 60 tackles (35 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, 5 pass breakups, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception.

Next Up for Penn State

Penn State will play its first home game of the season against the Bowling Green Falcons (1-0) on Sept. 7. The Falcons are coming off a 41-17 against the Fordham Rams. Although the Falcons managed just 168 yards passing, they did rack up more than 300 yards rushing in the win.