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STATE COLLEGE — In the locker room after Saturday’s win, the choice was obvious.
Looking for someone to break down the team before they left Beaver Stadium, James Franklin picked Robert Windsor.
The coach chose a rare specimen — a Penn State player from Wisconsin. And Windsor, a junior defensive tackle in his first year as a starter, relished it after recording two sacks against the home state Badgers.
“He just got done saying in the locker room with the guys that he’s 2-0 and we’re 2-0 vs. Wisconsin (in his career),” Franklin said. “So that allows his family to go back home and wear their Penn State sweatshirts to the grocery store and things like that. Rob played extremely well, had two sacks and did some really good things, so we are excited about him.”
“That felt good, just representing Wisconsin,” Windsor said. “So that’s why I got to break (the team) down. Let them know that I made the right decision to come here.”
Windsor played his high school ball in Fond du Lac, Wis., some 75 miles northeast of the Badgers’ campus in Madison. A late riser in his recruiting class, he jumped on an offer from Penn State toward the end of the process.
Wisconsin ultimately offered, too. But not until after the Nittany Lions.
“Yeah, it was a little too late at that point,” Windsor said. “So whatever.”
Windsor had a much smaller role in the Lions’ Big Ten championship win over the Badgers in 2016 as a redshirt freshman.
But on Saturday, he teamed with ends Shareef Miller and Yetur Gross-Matos for five sacks, crushing an anemic Badgers passing game.
“It was amazing,” Windsor said. “With them being known for their offensive linemen and doing what we did to them? There’s no better feeling.”
Infirmary report
• After missing last week’s trip to Michigan entirely, junior wide receiver Juwan Johnson once again did not suit up for Penn State.
The starting wideout suffered a lower-body injury before halftime against Indiana three weeks ago and did not play in the second half. He attempted to return a week later vs. Iowa, but played sparingly and was “not feeling 100 percent,” according to Franklin.
• Kickoff specialist Rafael Checa did return to action for the Lions after not making the trip to Michigan, the first game he had missed in his true freshman season.
• Defensive tackle Ellison Jordan (knee) still has not appeared in Big Ten play for the Lions.
Big move for freshman
Franklin had lamented not being able to get enough snaps for true freshman wideout Jahan Dotson because he was stuck behind KJ Hamler — the team’s most productive receiver this season — at the slot position.
So the Lions moved the rookie to the outside.
With Johnson out and fellow veteran Brandon Polk demoted, Dotson got his first career start, becoming the first true freshman receiver to start for Penn State since Saeed Blacknall in 2014.
“This week we gave him the opportunity to learn a new position, and he learned it and played really well,” Franklin said. “That creates some flexibility for us.”
Dotson officially burned his redshirt by playing in his fifth game of the season. He came up with the longest reception by either team in the game by hauling in a 30-yard pass on third-and-long.
Fellow true freshman Justin Shorter also moved up in the depth chart to the second team and appeared in his second game of the season his first since a brief cameo vs. Kent State in September.
The five-star recruit caught his first collegiate pass for 3 yards and got reps throughout the game.
Switch up front
After a rough game against one of the country’s best defenses, the Lions changed things up on the offensive line by swapping their tackles. Will Fries stepped in at left tackle while Ryan Bates moved over to the right side.
The right tackle spot has been an inconsistent one for the Lions this year as Fries and senior Chasz Wright have rotated there throughout the year.
So the Lions went to an alignment that worked well for them when they last used it in the Fiesta Bowl in December. Fries played left tackle down the stretch when Bates was hurt and remained there when Bates returned at the end of the season.
The move, it seemed, was in part to help boost Fries.
”I think it affected Will mostly — getting his confidence back,” running back Miles Sanders said. “I was talking to him before the game, during the game. Saying, ‘Hey, just play your heart out when you’re out there.’ That’s what he did.”
