One of Penn State football’s leaders will be back for the 2025 season.
Wednesday afternoon, Dom DeLuca, a linebacker/special teams ace, announced via Instagram that he’s coming back for what will be his fifth season at Penn State and, presumably, third as a team captain.
There haven’t been many Penn State players with a better story than DeLuca.
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.
DELUCA’S FINEST HOUR
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Dom DeLuca
DeLuca’s finest hour took place during his first College Football Playoff game.
Penn State LB Dom DeLuca was the star of Saturday’s 38-10 College Football Playoff win over SMU.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.First, he opened the scoring— and, it turned out, the floodgates— with a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter.
He wasn’t done yet.
In the second quarter, with SMU having a second and goal at the seven, DeLuca came up big again.
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.
THERE WON’T BE MANY MORE LIKE HIM
Maybe the only sad thing about DeLuca’s success story is that there won’t be many, if any, more like it down the road.
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.”
Penn State takes on Nevada Aug. 30 at Beaver Stadium to open its 2025 season.
