Penn State center Nick Dawkins has been waiting for a long time to get this point.
For four years, Dawkins didn’t see much playing by time, with the combination of other quality centers (Juice Scruggs, Hunter Nourzad) and injuries (he missed the entire 2022 season) kept him down the depth chart.
Until now.
Dawkins has been Penn State’s starting center through its first three games and is playing what OL coach Phil Trautwein feels is “his best ball.”
The season opener at West Virginia was Dawkins’ first college start. The next week’s game at Beaver Stadium was his first start at home. This Saturday’s game against Illinois— which will possibly be played in White Out conditions and definitely will be a night game— is exciting for Dawkins.
But so is any chance to play college football, and as a result, the veteran is approaching things the same way.
“To be honest, just business as usual,” Dawkins told reporters via Zoom Wednesday morning. “We’ll play in the snow, we’ll play in the rain, we’ll play on Mars, we’ll play ok the moon. It really doesn’t matter. It’s football in between the hashes and in between the sidelines at the end of the day. We love our fans, the crowd, the hostile environment that they create for opposing offenses and the support that they give our defense.
For Dawkins, the o-line doesn’t worry much about anything but the play ahead once the game starts.
“I would say for the offensive line and our offense, when you’re on the field, you’re just locked in on the mission, locked in on your job, your assignment, handling business,” he said. “Everything else is kind of blurred around the edges and you’re just focused on doing your job.”
Penn State and Illinois are scheduled to kickoff at 7 on NBC.
