Penn State safety Jaylen Reed played one of the best games of his college career Saturday.
Yet, nationally, he was overshadowed within his position group.
A Penn State safety was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and received national recognition but it wasn’t Reed.
Rather, it was Kevin Winston Jr.
The junior defensive back from Columbia, Maryland, recorded 12 tackles and a forced fumble. Winston stripped WVU quarterback Garrett Greene on a QB scramble in the first quarter, but the Mountaineers recovered. A few plays later, Winston stopped Greene short of the sticks on 4th and 1 inside the 20 and forced a turnover on downs.
Reed ended the game with nine tackles (three solo) and was all over the field, especially early in the game. He recovered a fumble, forced an incompletion on the first play from scrimmage and all together flew around the field during the first quarter.
To be clear, the fourth-year player didn’t express any negative feelings toward Winston.
With that said, he wants to make his presence known.
When asked what his mindset was going into Saturday’s 34-12 win over West Virginia in Morgantown,Reed gave eight powerful words.
“I wanted to make the world feel me,” he told reporters via Zoom Wednesday morning.
Reed then said he sometimes feels “I don’t get the recognition I deserve.”
“But it’s OK, you know?” he said. “I feel like sometimes that’s just how everybody’s journey goes, and I’m going to keep playing like that every game. I just feel I got this chip on my shoulder, and I feel I got something to prove.”
Reed’s head coach was among those who gave him his due.
It’s not often— if ever— that James Franklin has a cameo in one of his players’ postgame interviews. But while Reed was speaking with reporters after the game, Franklin stopped by to offer praise. Per Pro Football Focus, Reed played 59 snaps and, at 81.6, earned Penn State’s highest overall grade among defenders who played at least 20 snaps.
Reed is certainly a leader on this Penn State defense, and that leadership is likely to help the senior to a big NFL payday next spring.
Cool moment here.
During Penn State S Jaylen Reed’s post game interview, James Franklin went out of his way to compliment him on his performance in PSU’s win.
“It looked like you were running at a different speed than everybody else at the beginning. It was impressive.” pic.twitter.com/uSTGrpj2rS
— Joe Smeltzer (@joesmeltzer775) August 31, 2024
