Kevin Winston Jr. was 7 years old and in his first season of playing tackle football with one slight problem – he was afraid to tackle. KJ would let ball carriers run past him and then jump on their backs to try to bring them down.
One year later, his father and coach offered him stern advice. Kevin Sr. told his son to run through somebody and tackle him as hard as he could.
His son finally did. “He said, ‘Dad, it didn’t hurt,’ ” his father recalled. “From that point, he was knocking people’s helmets off and doing very well.
” KJ Winston has gone on to become one of the surest tacklers in the country and one of the bedrocks of the vaunted Penn State defense. At 6-2 and 205 pounds, Winston is the only Nittany Lion ranked among the top 50 players in the country by Pro Football Focus, He’s been projected as a first- or second-round draft pick next year. The guy who was fearful as a child is a fierce tackler who led Penn State in that category last year.
He’s especially effective against the run. “That’s just something I’ve been good at since I was a little kid playing for my father,” Winston said. “He told me, ‘Hit ’em in the mouth and they won’t come back.
’ Stuff like that. “He’s always talked about physicality. Having that at a young age, then through high school and now in college, it’s just how I play football.
” Winston is one of six starters returning from a defense that allowed the fewest rushing yards in the country and the s.