Dom DeLuca hasnโt really been in college for seven years.
But sometimes it feels that way.
DeLuca was a captain for Penn State last season and the season before that, so itโs probably safe to assume heโll have that honor again in 2025, his final season of eligibility.
Thatโs what led coach James Franklin to joke that DeLuca has been a captain โfor like seven years now.โ To Penn Stateโs benefit, DeLuca has made the most of those โseven years.
Welcome to All 105, a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State player.
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 235 pounds
Hometown: West Pittson, Pennsylvania
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. DeLucaโs performance in high school earned him a chance to walk on at Penn State.
2021:ย DeLuca redshirted his first season but got into three games on special teams, making his college debut in the teamโs home opener against Ball State Week 2. DeLucaโs performance on the practice field earned him the Developmental Squadโs Defensive Player of the Year, an honor he shared with Jordan van den Berg and Jaden Seider.
2022:ย Still a walk-on, DeLuca took on an increased role in Year 2, playing in all 13 games, mainly on special teams. Defensively, he ended the season with 29 tackles (18 solo, two for loss and got his first college sack at Rutgers Nov. 19. Perhaps the best individual play of DeLucaโs season came against Minnesota Oct. 23, when he blocked a punt during Penn Stateโs White Out.
2023: Penn State named DeLuca a special teams captain before the season and gave him the โNo. 0โ to signify that heโs the special teams leader. He lived up to that billing, winning the teamโs John Bruno Awardโ named for the late punter on the 1986 national championsโ presented to PSUโs top special teams player. But DeLucaโs contributions werenโt limited to special teams. He became a regular contributor on Penn Stateโs defense, ending the year with 29 tackles, a sack, 4.5 tackles for loss, two interceptionsโ including a pick-6 against Delaware, two forced fumbles, three pass breakups and a blocked punt against UMass. Pro Football Focus gave DeLuca a 90.7 grade for the regular season, which was .1 points behind probable first-round draft pick Chop Robinson as the teamโs highest-rated defensive players. Thatโs pretty good, eh?
Last year:ย DeLuca played in 15 of Penn Stateโs games, starting five. He ended the year with 40 tacklesโ 21 soloโ to go with four tackles for loss, three picks, a PBU and half of a sack. Of course, his biggest moment of the season came in Penn Stateโs first-ever College Football Playoff game against SMU. DeLuca picked off two passes, and the first oneโ a 23-yard pick-6โ ignited what turned into a Penn State rout.
Where he stands:ย DeLuca is the unquestioned leader of a linebacker room that, frankly, people arenโt sure about. Kobe King, a three-year starter at MIKE, is gone. TaโMere Robinson, one of the candidates to replace him, entered the transfer portal and plays for USC now. Veterans Tony Rojas and Keon Wyile have had bad luck with injuries. Redshirt freshmen Anthony Speca and Kari Jackson have potential but are unproven.
DeLuca has played a lot of football, and thatโs something that really nobody elseโ pending a transfer acquisitionโ can say in this Penn State linebackers room. Even though Penn State does run a 4-2-5, which takes away the overall importance of the position a little bit, DeLucaโs presence is still a big deal.
A quote by DeLuca:ย โJust getting on the young guys and also getting on the vets as well, the older guys. We have to have that player-to-player accountability and hold everyone accountable no matter who it is. Freshman to senior, senior to freshman. I mean, everyone has to be held to a standard in the linebacker room and thatโs what weโre going to do.โ โ DeLuca after this yearโs Blue-White Game
A quote about DeLuca:ย โHeโs got a smile on his face,โ Franklin said. โHeโs appreciative. He works his tail off, trusted us when we talked about the positions that we wanted to play him, and whatever role weโve asked him to do, heโs done it 100 miles an hour.โ
โThereโs a ton of changes in college football, but this is one of these that Iโm struggling with because thereโs been so many special stories over the years of walk-ons. Whether theyโve earned a scholarship or not, theyโve been just such a significant part of the game and our history. It breaks my heart a little bit that maybe Dom isnโt here if these rules were in place. Just a tremendous young man. Heโs a captain. Heโs awesome. Heโs awesome.โย โ James Franklinย
