What has this offseason been like for Penn State football?
There’s anticipation, anxiety and impatience every offseason but this one was just different for Penn State.
Center Nick Dawkins is 23 years old, which means he hasn’t been alive to see a Penn State football season as anticipated as this one.
Talking with reporters late Tuesday morning via Zoom, Dawkins went into detail about what the past seven-and-a-half months have been like.
WHAT DAWKINS SAID
Penn State C Nick Dawkins before the game
“What have the last seven and a half months been like for us? I would say, and I’ve said this before, it is no longer, and it is not, the idea of proving other people wrong. It is the idea of proving ourselves right. We have put countless amount of time… put so much time into the process. And what is the process? Consistent and daily deposits of work. Consistent daily deposits of intentional effort into being the best. So, you add those, they compound. It’s like interest. You compound every single day. The work, the intention, the study, the film, the investment into your body. And what do you have? The byproduct of all that. In training camp, we’ve been going against each other. I said it before, iron sharpens iron. As a good man does a good man, as a good friend does a good friend. We have the most cohesive group in the country. I will take that to the bank and run with it. So I am just super excited to see the byproduct of all that intention, of all that effort, off all that work, combining into the season.”
THE MEETING
2025 Nittany Lion Captains Dominic DeLuca, Zane Durant, Nick Dawkins, Drew Allar, and Tyler Duzansky.
Dawkins doesn’t remember who all was there but he remembers what was said.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.After Notre Dame broke Penn State’s collective heart in the Orange Bowl/College Football Playoff Semifinal, the team got back to the hotel room.
As Dawkins remembers it, 10-12 players were talking about the season that was.
Shelton remembers fellow linemen Dominic Rulli and Drew Shelton being there, as well as backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer.
“After the Orange Bowl, we were sitting in the hotel room. A bunch of us were in there, and we were just talking about the last, like, as the season has went on, reflecting of it and all, and… just not satisfied.”
From there, the announcements started rolling in.
First, star DT Zane Durant announced his decision to come back. Not long after, QB Drew Allar, RBs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and DE Dani Dennis-Sutton each announced that they’d be staying in school.
They’re all back to win a national title, and what could be a 17-game journey starts Saturday at 3:30 against Nevada on CBS at Beaver Stadium.
