Penn State football has named its captains for the 2024 season.
Six players— two on offense, two on defense, two on special teams— were tabbed by James Franklin and company as Penn State’s official leaders for this coming campaign. Here’s a breakdown of the six, starting with the field general.
PENN STATE CAPTAIN: DREW ALLAR
No surprise here. If Penn State’s starting quarterback weren’t a team captain, people would be worried. But Allar, who’s slated to enter his second season as starter, is among Penn State’s leaders, and this announcement affirmed that.
PENN STATE CAPTAIN: DOM DELUCA
Penn State’s captains come from a variety of backgrounds, and the difference between Allar’s rating coming out of high school (five stars) and DeLuca’s (walk-ok) is startling. Nonetheless, DeLuca has worked his way over the past three seasons into becoming one of Penn State’s leaders on defense and special teams. Penn State named DeLuca a special teams captain before the season and gave him the “No. 0” to signify that he’s the special teams leader. He lived up to that billing, winning the team’s John Bruno Award— named for the late punter on the 1986 national champions— presented to PSU’s top special teams player.
DeLuca isn’t projected to start on Penn State’s defense. Up-and-coming sophomore Tony Rojas is expected to start at SAM linebacker with DeLuca backing him up. But like last season, DeLuca should get plenty of playing time, and his special teams contributions will be back, too. With Curtis Jacobs going to the NFL and Abdul Carter moving to defensive end, Penn State’s linebackers room will need leadership, and DeLuca will provide that.
PENN STATE CAPTAIN: KJ WINSTON
This one may come as a surprise to some and not because of Winston’s talent. He was one of America’s best safeties last season and figures to be even better in 2024. But Winston is entering his third season at Penn State, making him the team’s least-tenured captain next to Allar, whose selection should have been a given due to him being a quarterback. Winston’s selection shows how highly the coaching staff rates him, not just on the field but in the room.
“He’s a man, he really is,” James Franklin last week.
“He’s so mature, he really knows how to practice, how to prepare. He’s totally locked in, totally focused. Football is really important to him.
“I don’t have enough adjectives for him,” Franklin added.
“You look at him, physically, he’s beautiful. He’s got a great relationship with the coaches. He’s kind of an extension of the coaching staff, I could go on and on and on.”
CAPTAIN: KOBE KING
If Penn State has players that are more underrated than King, the list is small.
King ended the season with 59 tackles— 18 more than the previous season— as well as 19 more solo tackles. Going into analytics, King was one of Penn State’s most valuable players. His Pro Football Focus grade of 82.5 was second only to Chop Robinson amongst Penn State’s defensive starts, and King’s 88.4 grade against the run was behind only Winston and DeLuca.
King is Penn State’s man at MIKE linebacker. As long as he stays healthy, he should continue to be one of PSU’s better players.
CAPTAIN: NICK DAWKINS
Dawkins has been with the program for four seasons and has yet to start a game. But his attitude is top-notch, and his teammates and coaches know it. That’s a big reason why he’s a captain, and a big reason why he’s Penn State’s likely starter at center.
PENN STATE CAPTAIN: RILEY THOMPSON
Thompson, who committed to Penn State in December 2022 out of the transfer portal from Florida Atlantic, did an excellent job for PSU this season, succeeding fan-favorite Barney Amor. Penn State fans grew to like the Australian Thompson, as well.
Per the Portal Report’s data, the Australian-born punter was Penn State’s most productive transfer this season, and was on TPR’s midseason All-American team.
Here’s how FTPS works for punters.
Punt Attempts = 0.2 fpts
Punt Inside 20 = 2.0 fpts
Average Yards per Punt
< 35 yards = 0 fpts
35 – 40 yards = 2 fpts
40 – 45 yards = 6 fpts
45 – 50 yards = 8 fpts
50 yards = 12 fpts
Thompson finished the year with 10.3 total f/pts per game and had a total FPTS of 123.2
