Glenn Winston plays reverse leap-frog with Penn State kicker Kevin Kelly
No doubt the biggest piece of news coming out of preseason camp today was the reinstatement of running back Glenn Winston to the MSU football team.
You all will remember that Winston got into a fight with MSU hockey player A.J. Sturges in October, and Winston was sentenced to 180 days in jail. News came out in late July that Winston would be released from jail on August 13th due to overcrowding (clearly, he got out three days earlier than that). At Big Ten media days, Coach D said that Winston “has got work to do” to rejoin the team.
Fast forward to today, and Glenn Winston was practicing with the rest of the team in shorts and t-shirt. According to the Free Press, Dantonio didn’t talk about the reinstatement, but rather directed reports to the “statement” that was released earlier in the day:
We appreciate Athletic Director Mark Hollis’ support in reinstating Glenn Winston. Glenn has done everything that he’s been asked to do from a judicial and a team standpoint. He has paid the penalty for his actions – publicly, legally and athletically – and he worked hard to maintain his academic eligibility while doing so. We regret the entire incident, however at this time, it is important that we support Glenn socially, academically and athletically. He still has a lot of work to do.
Okay, yes, I agree with all of that. The young man needs to be supported. But frankly, I don’t care about the statement. Because it was clearly written by some PR flack who gets to take situations like this and give them a nice shiny ring to them. I would have been much more interested, and convinced, if Dantonio had made a statement to reporters. Out loud. For everyone to hear. Not some prepared press release, but an honest-to-goodness reaction to the situation.
All that aside (and certainly not just pushing it aside), Winston is very likely a significant and important addition to the team. In 2008, Winston played in 7 games as a kick returner. He returned the ball 16 times for an average of 22.7 yard per return. Keyshawn Martin filled in for Winston after he was dismissed from the team, returning two kicks for a 25 yard per return average and, despite having butterfingers at times last year, may be the one to challenge Winston for the return duties. Winston should also figure to be in the mix for running back, along with a stable of other backs.
**Update #1: The guys over at The Only Colors have their take on it as well.
**Update #2: The Enlightened Spartan brings up a good point that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects students (and, by extension, student-athletes) from having to divulge legal and medical information. IMO, this is likely the reason Dantonio deferred to the statement.
**Update #3: Looks like Coach D did in fact talk briefly about the Winston situation at the preseason press conference, see below:
I want to address the Glenn Winston situation again. I’ve made a public statement about that, and I’ll stand by that statement.I also do want to add, though that I’ve tried to put myself in that situation which the two families were in a couple of times. I put myself in that situation a lot. I’ve tried to feel for them and see where they’re at with things. So it’s important to recognize that we deeply regret the situation. I’m sorry for any pain that has been caused to the two families, to the Sturges family or A.J. or to Ian Montgomery and his family. It should have never happened.
But with that being said, we have to support Glenn. He’s our player. He needs to have somebody to support him, and I try and support our players in that regard. He’s got a lot of work to do before he even plays. But that’s sort of where we’re at with that whole thing, and that will be the end of the discussion with it.
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