All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. This edition will look at sophomore offensive lineman Nick Dawkins.
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 315 pounds
Hometown: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Before Penn State: Nick Dawkins is the son of the late NBA legend Daryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins, who passed away in 2015.
He played high school football at Parkland, where he captained the team as a senior and won district titles as a freshman and sophomore.
Individually, Dawkins’s senior season was his best. He ended the year with 28 pancake blocks and earned Class 4A-6A Pennsylvania Lineman of the Year.
247Sports, ESPN and Rivals all had Dawkins as a three star recruit. 247 had him as the No. 6 player in Pennsylvania from his class and ESPN ranked him No. 10. Rivals had him just outside the top 10 at No. 11.
He committed to Penn State in April of 2019.
At Penn State
2020: Dawkins didn’t play in any of Penn State’s games.
2021: Dawkins played in 11 of Penn State’s 13 games, being used mainly on special teams.
Where he stands:
Dawkins hasn’t played much over his first two season at Penn State and might not play much this year, either.
Penn State’s offensive line is expected to be better than it was last year, with excitement surrounding players like redshirt freshman Landon Tengwall and Cornell transfer Hunter Nourzad.
If Penn State’s regular linemen stay healthy and perform to their abilities, it’s hard to see Dawkins having a major role in 2022.
But Dawkins’ position coach, Phil Trautwein, called him the improved Penn State offensive lineman over the past two years.
Based on that assessment, Dawkins will be ready to answer if opportunity knocks.
A quote about Dawkins: “I know how much your dad means to you and how much your mom means to you and how proud you are to be your father’s son,” coach James Franklin told Dawkins on his signing day in December of 2019. “But I’m going to work like crazy so, in the future, people are going to be talking about you.”
