Player Spotlight: Robert Windsor

Audio/Story posted October 4, 2019 in CommRadio, Sports by Malcolm Wilson

The thousands of fans who traveled to College Park, Maryland this past Friday dressed in blue and white, as well as the millions who watched from home, were all ecstatic to see their Nittany Lions shut out the Terrapins 59-0. Penn State had a stellar night on defense against Maryland in the blowout victory, allowing no points and only 128 yards to the opposing offense.

A big reason for the Nittany Lions’ success was defensive tackle Robert Windsor, a senior and second-year starter. A strong presence on the interior defensive line, the Wisconsin native has played a crucial role in his team’s impressive performance on the defensive side of the ball all season.

Windsor has nine total tackles and half a sack on the year, coming off an impressive junior season in which he recorded 38 tackles and 7 1/2 sacks. Those numbers will be challenging to surpass, but the defensive tackle’s size and athleticism make it difficult to doubt his ability to supersede those statistics in his senior season.

At the team’s weekly press conference on Tuesday, Windsor took to the podium to field questions from reporters about a variety of topics.

When asked for his opinion on Penn State’s defensive unit as a whole, the defensive tackle asserted his complete confidence in his teammates’ ability to shut down opposing offenses. He praised their tenacity and the high level of effort they have displayed on the field all season long.

“I have complete faith in my guys,” Windsor said. “I think that’s the most surprising thing to me about this week, how we swarm to the ball as a defense. I’m seeing the running back surrounded by a bunch of blue and white and that’s been really impressive to me.”

The defensive standout was also presented with several questions about an upcoming HBO documentary, “24/7 College Football,” that will focus on the team’s preparation for their homecoming game against Purdue this Saturday. The highly-anticipated special will be similar to HBO’s well-known series “Hard Knocks,” which offers football fans an inside look at a different NFL team’s training camp and practices every season.

“The guys watch it because some of our former teammates are on it,” Windsor said of the “Hard Knocks” series. “We like to talk about it. It’s a cool thing.”

Penn State will be playing its 100th homecoming game against Purdue on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The Boilermakers will be missing multiple key players on offense, including their starting quarterback Elijah Sindelar (senior) and wide receiver Rondale Moore (sophomore). Moore was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season and was a consensus All-American.

When asked about the game, Windsor offered some insight into the team’s attitude and approach in the week leading up to the interconference contest. Despite Purdue’s injuries, he told reporters that his team will treat this game no differently than they would under any other circumstances and that they can expect to see the same physical style of defense that the Nittany Lions have shown all season.

“That’s not going to change our approach at all,” Windsor said. “We’re just going to play how we play defense, hard-nosed defense.”

Redshirt freshman Jack Plummer will be the starting signal-caller for Purdue on Saturday. Despite his lack of experience, Windsor told reporters that the defense is expecting to see a lot of passing plays from their opponents. A skilled pass-rusher, Windsor and the rest of the defensive line will likely put a lot of pressure on the young quarterback early and often.

Look for Windsor to make plenty of plays on defense when the Nittany Lions take on the Purdue Boilermakers Saturday at noon.

 


Malcolm Wilson is a freshman majoring in journalism. To contact him, email malcolmwilson773@gmail.com.