Penn State football was without one of its best players for most of Saturday’s 34-27 win over Bowling Green and one of its rising stars for all of it.
Star Penn State safety KJ Winston Jr. is on the sideline with no helmet ahead of this defensive series. He came off the field slowly after the completion to Fannin Jr., on the last series and never returned for the rest of it.
— Greg Pickel (@GregPickel) September 7, 2024
Before the game, many Penn State fans were surprised to see second-year TE Andrew Rappleyea’s name on the injury report.
Safety KJ Winston wasn’t on the injury report but didn’t play much past the first quarter.
After the game, Franklin was asked about both players.
PENN STATE HC JAMES FRANKLIN ON TE ANDREW RAPPLEYEA
I can’t really speak at this stage on (Rappleyea), just because I don’t know. To be honest with you, this was very, very recent that this happened. So, I don’t have the information to give to you. And as you guys know, I won’t talk about injuries with you guys until I’ve talked to the players and their families and make sure everybody’s okay with it, with the information. But I also, again, I don’t know. Again, it was very recent.”
Franklin didn’t say Winston was injured, which would be what most people would guess as to why he missed most of the game.
FRANKLIN ON KJ WINSTON
Yeah, again, I can’t get into KJ and why he wasn’t in there. As you guys know, I don’t talk about those things, but it obviously increased the amount of reps for Jaylen Reed and increased the amount of reps for Zakee Wheatley. It also kind of changed our ability to be able to get into the package where J. Reed is playing a lion position.
So, you know, we need to be in base a little bit more. It’s hard to get in prowler if they don’t substitute on third down, which is what a lot of people are doing, they won’t substitute on third down, so that we can’t get our prowler on the field, which is our rush package, which is a smart plan. So those are some things that we’re going to have to work on, specifically during the bye week. Those will be important.
Rappleyea was photographed by Grace Brennan of 247Sports on crutches.
There’s no hint as to what Winston’s situation might be.
.@Lions247's @GracexBrennan got a photo of Penn State tight end Andrew Rappleyea on crutches this afternoon. Rappleyea popped up on the pregame availability report ahead of today's win over Bowling Green.https://t.co/JDkNXfl3NB pic.twitter.com/G2jb8Yf3GK
— Daniel Gallen (@danieljtgallen) September 7, 2024
