Dom DeLuca hasn’t 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 it’s probably safe to assume he’ll have that honor again in 2025, his final season of eligibility.
That’s what led coach James Franklin to joke that DeLuca has been a captain “for like seven years now.” To Penn State’s benefit, DeLuca has made the most of those “seven 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. DeLuca’s performance in high school earned him a chance to walk on at Penn State.
2021: DeLuca redshirted his first season but got into three games on special teams, making his college debut in the team’s home opener against Ball State Week 2. DeLuca’s performance on the practice field earned him the Developmental Squad’s Defensive Player of the Year, an honor he shared with Jordan van den Berg and Jaden Seider.
2022: 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 DeLuca’s season came against Minnesota Oct. 23, when he blocked a punt during Penn State’s White Out.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.2023: 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. But DeLuca’s contributions weren’t limited to special teams. He became a regular contributor on Penn State’s defense, ending the year with 29 tackles, a sack, 4.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions— 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 team’s highest-rated defensive players. That’s pretty good, eh?
Last year: DeLuca played in 15 of Penn State’s games, starting five. He ended the year with 40 tackles— 21 solo— 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 State’s first-ever College Football Playoff game against SMU. DeLuca picked off two passes, and the first one— a 23-yard pick-6– ignited what turned into a Penn State rout.
Where he stands: DeLuca is the unquestioned leader of a linebacker room that, frankly, people aren’t sure about. Kobe King, a three-year starter at MIKE, is gone. Ta’Mere 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 that’s something that really nobody else— pending a transfer acquisition— 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, DeLuca’s presence is still a big deal.
A quote by DeLuca: “Just 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 that’s what we’re going to do.” — DeLuca after this year’s Blue-White Game
A quote about DeLuca: “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.” — James Franklin
