Penn State Football

Dom ‘Baller’ DeLuca Was The Story of Penn State Football’s Historic Win

Published

December 21, 2024

Penn State LB Dom DeLuca’s Playoff pick-6 will go down in history.

Penn State LB Dom DeLuca was the star of Saturday’s 38-10 College Football Playoff win over SMU.

First, he opened the scoring— and, it turned out, the floodgates— with a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter.

PENN STATE PICK SIX!!! pic.twitter.com/Iqdm6HYGaz

— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) December 21, 2024

He wasn’t done yet.

In the second quarter, with SMU having a second and goal at the seven, DeLuca came up big again.

DOM DELUCA WITH ANOTHER PICK!!!

WHAT A GAME HE IS HAVING pic.twitter.com/wk2k9Ufj85

— Barstool Penn State (@PSUBarstool) December 21, 2024

This one didn’t go to the house, but it did give Penn State’s offense the ball back. It ended up dashing in with a nine-play, 75-yard TD drive that made it 21-0 and effectively put the game to bed.

If you ask anybody on Penn State’s roster or coaching staff, it couldn’t have happened to someone more deserving.

‘HE’S A BALLER’

Penn State coach James Franklin is quite proud of his program.

Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: James Franklin

DeLuca’s coach, James Franklin, put it, well, frankly.

“Dom is just — he’s a baller,” Franklin said in his postgame presser. “You talk about a guy who was Pennsylvania Player of the Year, won a state championship on a torn ACL, gray-shirted to be able to come here, came as a walk-on, earned a scholarship.”

Yes, DeLuca did do all of that and as a result has become a big time underdog story.

The sad thing is, there might not be many more stories like that.

Because the NCAA is increasing scholarship sizes from 85 to 105, walk-on success stories like DeLuca’s could become less prevalent,

“What a shame that there may not be more stories like this in college football with the 105 rule,” Franklin said. “Dom DeLuca may not happen at Penn State. I love Dom and Mom and Dad. I think he’s a tremendous example for all of our players on the team.”

DeLuca does things with a “pedal to the mettle” attitude, and Franklin loves it.

“He’s got a smile on his face,” Franklin said. “He’s appreciative. He works his tail off, trusted us when we talked about the positions that we wanted to play him, and whatever role we’ve asked him to do, he’s done it 100 miles an hour.”

“There’s a ton of changes in college football, but this is one of these that I’m struggling with because there’s been so many special stories over the years of walk-ons. Whether they’ve earned a scholarship or not, they’ve been just such a significant part of the game and our history. It breaks my heart a little bit that maybe Dom isn’t here if these rules were in place. Just a tremendous young man. He’s a captain. He’s awesome. He’s awesome.”

COMING BACK STRONGER

Penn State LB Dom DeLuca has been battling injuries since high school.

Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now

An in-state product, DeLuca was a three-time team captain and a quarterback at Wyoming Area High School. As a senior, he helped lead Wyoming to its first state championship, throwing two touchdowns in a 21-14 win over Central Valley. His senior year performance earned him multiple accolades, including Class 3A Player of the Year by the PA Football Writers. DeLuca also starred on defense, ending his career with 12 interceptions and 201 tackles. DeLuca’s performance in high school earned him a chance to walk on at Penn State.

In that state title game, he tore his ACL.

So he came to Penn State having to fight, and that’s what the walk-on turned starter has done.

“It’s awesome, right?” Franklin said. “We talk about the journey a lot in our program, and everybody’s journey’s different, everybody’s race is different. You’ve got to run your race and maximize the opportunities that you get. I think he’s a great example of that.

Franklin also credited Penn State’s doctors for the work they did in getting DeLuca healthy.

“I think it’s obviously also the medical team that we have here,” he said. “This isn’t the old days. You can come back from these things better than ever before. Wayne Sebastianelli does a great job for our student-athletes. I think Dom is a great example of that.”

This season, DeLuca dealt with a much-less-serious apparent wrist injury. But he only ended up missing one full game against Illinois, although he was limited in a few others as a result.

HIS TEAMMATES ALSO LOVE HIM

Tony Rojas, who also had a pick six for Penn State, is a big Dom DeLuca fan.

Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now

For fellow LB Tony Rojas— who also had a pick six— consistency is what makes Dom DeLuca who he is.

“Dom’s the same person every day, from when I first stepped on campus,” Rojas said after the game. “Whether it’s just leaning on the young guys like me or the positive attitude he brings to practice every day or the work ethic. It all meshes together.”

Star DE Abdul Carter concurred.

“From Year 1 to Year 3,” Carter said, “ask anybody in the building: Dom does everything right. He always does his job at 100%. He’s always in the right position. He just does everything right. And he plays like that on the field because of all of that. It all shows.”

FROM THE MAN HIMSELF

Penn State LB Dom DeLuca is proud of what he’s accomplished but also knows there’s still work to be done.

Penn State Athletics

Is Dom DeLuca aware that he played the game of his life?

Probably.

Is he going to let it get to his head?

Probably not.

“I’m just trying to celebrate with my brothers, go 1-0 each week,” the reserved DeLuca said. “Being able to come out with a win for the first round of the playoffs is huge, and I’m just excited to celebrate with my brothers.”

No. 6 Penn State takes on No. 3 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl New Year’s Eve nigh. Kickoff is scheduled for seven on ESPN.