James Franklin provides update on injured Penn State football star KJ Winston

Penn State football has learned to adapt to life without KJ Winston after the star Nittany Lions safety was sidelined with an injury last month. Now, six weeks removed from that injury, James Franklin is not ready to explicitly rule the standout defender out for the season, or provide a potential timeline for his return to the field in 2024.

“I think I have somewhat answered that question in terms of the long-term injury, and that’s about as far as I’m going to go with the details of that, which has been pretty typical. Long-term injury,” Franklin said on Monday. KJ Winston exited in the first half of Week 2 against Bowling Green. He led the Nittany Lions in tackles in the season opener at West Virginia.

“But, yeah, KJ, we are hoping for him to have a more significant impact in terms of leadership, in terms of all those other things,” Franklin continued. “But right now, KJ’s focus is on getting healthy.

“I actually visited with him and his family on Wednesday night, which was also me and Dex [Anthony Poindexter]. That was great. But he’s a huge part of our program, will continue to be a huge part of our program. But obviously, based on some of the things that he was working through from a health perspective, his focus was on that, which rightfully so.”

Another Penn State defensive back leading the way, says Franklin

© Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the absence of KJ Winston, another Nittany Lions safety has picked up the mantle of leading the Penn State defense.

Jaylen Reed has been integral to the Nittany Lions top ten defense this fall. Reed leads the team with 39 tackles and also has three tackles for loss, one interception, and one fumble recovery.

“I think he’s playing really well, and he’s not just a guy that plays really well himself, but he impacts others,” James Franklin said. “You watch him out there running the defense, communicating checks. Just does a phenomenal job.

“When it comes to the sideline, the information he’s able to give us is extremely valuable. “But [he’s] playing very, very well. Typically, you don’t want to be in a situation where your safety is leading in tackles, but as we know, he hasn’t really just played a traditional safety role. He’s also played the outside linebacker position as well.”

Penn State football returns to action Saturday evening in Madison against the Wisconsin Badgers.

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