SAFETY KEVIN WINSTON JR.
(on how the rehab for his knee injury is going and timetable for his return)
My knee, everything's looking great. I've been doing rehab, rehab's been going well. I'm on track, even a bit ahead of what I was doing as I was able to run my 40 at Pro Day, but everything's looking great and I'm feeling amazing.
(on the decision to not return to Penn State for his senior season and how he fresh he feels now)
I knew physically I was ready to compete at the next level, but my big thing was mentally, was I mentally prepared. And you won't last in this league if you're not mentally prepared for this, going on and competing with the best of the best. And I had to get ready my whole freshman year since I came into college, I was preparing myself like that, surrounding myself with veterans and taking upon their habits. At this point now, I learned so much from my injury as well and I came out even better from it mentally. And going to make that decision was much easier.
(on how tough it was to sit out while Penn State made a deep run in the College Football Playoff last year)
Yeah, it was tough. It was super tough. My biggest thing is I want to go out there and compete with my guys, be able to help the teammates, be a leader out there. It is hard, but I have to suck it up and at that point, I have to be a leader regardless of I'm on the field or not. And I was happy and felt good with the fact that we made it that far in the season. And when I came off the field, I truly feel there was no drop off. Guys came in and they picked up right where we left off and we had a great defense no matter what.
(on how much he knew about Dennard Wilson through DeMatha High School head coach Bill McGregor and how much he and Wilson talked DeMatha Football)
I didn't talk to him much at DeMatha, I'm going to get to know him very well now. So, it's going to be a great relationship.
(on staying on the Penn State sideline for every game after he suffered a season-ending injury last season)
As a leader of the team, I took it upon myself. I think the culture we had, every player we had on the team would have did such. But I think mentally going into it for me, once I get hurt, it's not, 'Oh, man, I can go just leave and not be around.' At that point, I'm still a leader. I was still a captain of the team, and it was my job to be there no matter what, if I'm on the field or not. And that's why I took the accountability to do that and that what I did.
(on if he injured his right or left knee and if there was any questioning if he would enter the Draft after the injury)
It was my right knee, and I had to talk to my inner circle and everybody around me, figure out my decision and obviously ultimately think about what I feel is best for me and where I was mentally. And like I said, everything went for the mental part for me, I had think on that and I felt great with it and that's how it all went down.
(on some saying that he would have been a first-round pick if not for the injury and how he plans to bounce back now with the Titans)
At the end of the day, it could have been that, would have been that. Right now, I'm a Titan and I'm ready to be a great teammate for the Titans, become a leader, earn the respect of my teammates and do that. And that's all I'm looking forward to, I'm the Titan and plan to be Titan for life. So that's what I'm planning for.
(on the skyline behind him and where he is right now)
I'm in New York. Nice night in Manhattan right now, I'm in New York.
(on what he is doing in New York)
So my agency is in New York. So I did my celebration in New York.
(on his strengths and what he plans to work on at the next level)
Biggest thing I feel like is I'm a great leader, teammate overall. My teammates, I'm going to earn the trust of my teammates, earn their respect and they'll know that I'm going to go out there and leave it all out on the field because that's how much I respect and care for my teammates and not let them down. And overall, as a player, I'm going to go out and whatever the job is for the team to put us in the best position, that's what I'm going to do. It doesn't matter what that may be, I'm willing to go out there and do it at a high level and no complaints or anything. I'm just ready to put my head down and work.
(on how he grew mentally through the injury and the most important part of that that makes him feel ready now)
For me, the big thing was this happened in a time where I had one of my best games, the first game. And going into the next game, everything's trending in the right direction for me and I feel like I'm on top of the world. Game's coming slow and everything's starting to slow down, and I had the injury happen. But you have to be real tough mentally to make it through that injury, go fight day after day after day where I'm watching my teammates go out there and practice, go hard, which—they ended up winning, so I was happy. But I would love to be out there with them. But, going through the process, I had to think, 'Control what I control.' And at that point, what I controlled was how hard I attacked rehab every day. So, my season got taken away from me and now I had to apply the same aggression and the same intensity that I would to my season, now it goes to my rehab. And I think through that, I grew so much mentally, watched so much more film. You start to appreciate everything, don't take things for granted. I didn't take football for granted then, and it's even more to a bigger degree now, so I'm blessed.
(on what the Titans told him about his role on the team and his expectations for playing time on the field with two established safeties in front of him)
Yeah, I'm not sure yet what it's going to be, but whatever it is I'm willing to do and whatever I have to do to be the best teammate, best player for the team. And I'm ready, my big thing coming in is to earn respect and I'm coming in ready to play, I'm going to be ready to be ready to play on the defense side, special teams, whatever it may be. And I am ready, I'm going to earn respect of my teammates, coaches, everybody in the building about how I conduct myself as a person, not only as a player, but as a person as well and that's what I'm ready to do.
(on being teammates with Cameron Ward)
He's a great player. I've watched him all throughout the season, and I just love how poised he is, that's the big thing. How poised he is as a player and how he attacks the game, and nothing fazes him. Just simply, you talk about his arm, that's the easy thing, the easy way out, Oh, he has a great arm, he's a great quarterback.' That's what is clear as day. But my big thing is how poised he can be. No matter what, he can throw an interception, he could have a slow start to a game, no matter what he's going to be—you know you're going to get the best out of him in the big moments, and that's why I'm excited to play with him.
(on if he was surprised he was able to run his 40-yard dash on his Pro Day and if he expects any limitations going forward)
No, it wasn't surprising for me, that was kind of the date I had circled for me once I had got injured. My big thing was when is the next time I'll be able to compete, and that was the next time I knew that I'd be able go out there and compete. Every day in rehab, that's all I was thinking about, being able to put myself in this position to run. I'm not sure what it'll be yet, but I'm going through rehab right now and I'm feeling amazing, and I am ready to go. Whenever that time is, I'll be ready to go.
(on advice he's gotten from his father through the injury and the draft process)
Yeah, the big thing with him was controlling what I could control. And he was the person that throughout my life, no matter what happened, no matter what was at stake, nothing changes for me and how I attack everything. I was attacking my season one way, and he told me basically, now that my season's over, I have to attack rehab the exact same way. And having him around throughout the process, you talked about Penn State, going through Penn State, his big thing was finding people that are honest with me, people that keep it real with me. In the process, people will promise you numbers, promise you a starting spot. We chose Penn State. As my family, me and my dad talked about it and we chose Penn State essentially because they were the ones that kept it honest with me and told me, "When you come here, we have great players. We can see you, if you compete and respect your teammates, you can be a great player here." And having my dad around, even coming to this next level, I had him by my side this whole time, obviously not knowing where you're going to go. But, with the mindset I have and I learned from my father, no matter where I go, what I have to do, I'm going to be the best person I can possibly be and the best teammate that I could possibly be. I'm excited to do that in Tennessee.
