Tag: Dominic Deluca

Penn State awards coveted No. 0 jersey to special teams standout

Penn State continues tradition of awarding the No. 0 jersey to special teams standout for 2023 season.

The No. 0 jersey has officially been handed out to a special teams standout at Penn State. It’s a recent tradition of Penn State under [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] for a player on special teams to wear that jersey number.

For three years it was worn by safety [autotag]Jonathan Sutherland[/autotag]. After his graduation, some wondered if the tradition would continue and who would wear the jersey.

Linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] will be the one wearing No. 0 for the 2023 season. The redshirt sophomore has played a huge role on special teams throughout his career. He joined the program as a walk-on in 2021 and redshirted after appearing in three games.

In 2022, DeLuca appeared in all 13 games on special teams and defense, racking up 29 total tackles. He earned the coaching staff’s Special Teams Player of the Week after he blocked a punt in the game.

Franklin and Penn State awarded him a scholarship before the Rose Bowl game against Utah this past season after sharing the team’s Outstanding Run-On Award with [autotag]Tank Smith[/autotag].

It was previously announced that DeLuca would be one of the six captains for the Nittany Lions this season. He’s joined by wide receiver [autotag]Malick Meiga[/autotag] as special teams captains.

The Pennsylvania native has worked his way into a backup linebacker role and will be on the field at that position in certain spots going forward. But his main contributions to the team will be leading the special teams unit that Franklin has put a lot of emphasis on.

The No. 0 jersey tradition lives on for another season with DeLuca wearing the honor.

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Penn State football team captains for 2023 announced

Penn State announced the six team captains for the Nittany Lions this college football season.

Penn State football’s return to the gridiron is approaching quickly. As the team prepares for the season opener against West Virginia, the team captains for this year’s rosters have been officially unveiled. In a social media post on the team’s official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, confirmed the six names that have been chosen to be the team’s leaders for the upcoming season.

Three of the names were previously confirmed; safety [autotag]Keaton Elli[/autotag]s, offensive tackle [autotag]Olu Fashanu[/autotag], and linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag]. The three additions to the list of team captains included tight end [autotag]Theo Johnson[/autotag], defensive end [autotag]Adisa Isaac[/autotag], and wide receiver [autotag]Malick Meiga[/autotag].

Here is a look at this year’s team captains for the Nittnay Lions.

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 34 Dominic DeLuca

Taking a look at Penn State reserve linebacker Dominic DeLuca in 2023.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] this season.

Today is a look at linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] who has worked his way from a redshirt player to special teams star over the course of his two seasons in the program. Can he continue to work his way into more playing time? Here is a look at DeLuca heading into the 2023 season.

Penn State spring football: Linebacker preview

Penn State’s linebacker depth in 2023 could be the best it’s been in years.

There is potential that this will be one of the most exciting linebacker groups that Penn State has had in a while.

The group is headlined by true sophomore [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag] who really opened eyes last season. Coming in wearing the coveted number 11 jersey as a true freshman meant the spotlight would be on him all year. He more than delivered and has a promising collegiate career in front of him.

Another interesting nugget is there are no seniors in the linebacking corps for 2023-24. The most experienced players are two redshirt juniors. This is a good sign for the future as this group will be able to continue playing with each other for multiple years going forward.

There will be depth chart battles this spring to keep an eye on. The main one to watch is between [autotag]Kobe King[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Elsdon[/autotag] for the starting middle linebacker position. Elsdon won the battle last spring and summer, but the snap counts last season were pretty similar.

Abdul Carter

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Measurables: 6’3″ / 233 lbs.

Year: Sophomore

Expected Role: Starting Weakside Linebacker

There is a real buzz around Abdul Carter about what he can do this season. Coming into Penn State, Carter was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class. He was excellent in his freshman season recording 56 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. His PFF grade was 76.2 ranking him 122nd out of 789 linebackers last season.

With another offseason in the college weight room and more time to get familiar with the defensive scheme, the sky is the limit for Carter. He could be the highlight of what’s expected to be a very good defense.

NEXT: Kobe King a rising redshirt sophomore

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Report: Penn State places Dominic DeLuca on scholarship

Penn State reserve linebacker and special teams leader reportedly placed on scholarship.

One of the stars of last year’s Blue-White Game has finally been placed on scholarship. According to a report from Lions247, linebacker [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] was placed on scholarship at the end of the season. Whether that was before or after the Rose Bowl is unconfirmed, but regardless, it seems well deserved given DeLuca’s work ethic exhibited in the program the past couple of seasons.

DeLuca joined the Penn State program in the Class of 2021, and almost immediately he was regarded as one of the hardest-working players on the roster. DeLuca was the breakout star of the Blue-White Game in 2022 with a pair of interceptions, following a 2021 season where he had been a standout player on Penn State’s developmental squad with three developmental squad defensive player of the week honors from the coaching staff.

DeLuca went on to be named the program’s outstanding run-on player in 2022 after finding a role as a reserve linebacker and on special teams.

DeLuca got in the box score of Penn State’s Rose Bowl victory over Utah with a pair of tackles.

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2022 Penn State football: Nittany Lions’ linebacker preview

Penn State position overview: Linebacker roster overview for 2022

Penn State is prepping for a season in which the program hopes to redeem itself on the national stage. After back-to-back seasons of mediocre results, Penn State is aiming to bounce back and prove themselves worthy of being in the Big Ten championship hunt, if not a little bit more.

Penn State kicks off the 2022 season with a Thursday night primetime matchup at Purdue on September 1. When that season begins, the Nittany Lions will begin to answer whether or not the linebacker depth is truly a concern for the upcoming year. After losing a pair of starters from last year’s team, Penn State has some big spots to fill at the program’s signature position.

Here is a look at what Penn State has on the roster at the linebacker position going into the 2022 season.

Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 34 Dominic DeLuca

Penn State’s Blue-White Game star, Dominic DeLuca, hopes to continue developing in 2022. Snapshot profile…

Going into the 2022 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] this season.

Penn State faces some questions at the linebacker position in 2022 after losing a pair of starters to the NFL. He may not factor into the starting lineup, but [autotag]Dominic DeLuca[/autotag] turned in a performance worthy of being a new fan favorite to root for in the Blue-White Game in the spring. Here is a snapshot profile of the star of the spring and where he fits into the 2022 defense.

Blue-White Game Report Card: Grading Penn State’s spring football game

The grades are in for Penn State’s performance in the Blue-White Game.

Penn State’s spring game wasn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard, even in a modified scoring system. And fans wanting to see drastic improvement from the program that has gone .500 over the past two seasons may be left wondering if Penn State is set up for another mediocre season in Happy Valley after watching the Blue-White Game. But Penn State’s final spring practice of the year had some positive developments and some reminders that help is on the way over the summer.

And now the grades are in for Penn State’s performance during the Blue-White Game. Here’s how each position group was graded for the spring game in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

Quarterback: C

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

A recurring theme when it comes to the offensive grades following Penn State’s game is probably chalked up to a simple “Eh, it could have been better.” That was the basic takeaway from the performance of the quarterbacks overall, but any expectation of any passer just lighting up the spring game may have been unreasonable.

We were never likely to see a whole lot out of [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], the sixth-year senior who really has little more to prove at this point. We know pretty much exactly what Clifford is, and if given time to process the field, he can make plays. But he had some overthrown passes at times. He did, however, throw the game’s only touchdown of the game.

The backup competition behind Clifford is the real storyline here, and the future of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] is what fans are eager to witness. But a rough spring debut for the true freshman shows there is still work to be done in the big picture. If based solely on one afternoon, [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] proved he should be the team’s primary backup option heading into the season, although Allar should improve quickly.

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Next: Grading the running backs

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Inside the Box Score: The key stats from Penn State’s Blue-White Game

Inside the box score with some key stats from Penn State’s Blue-White Game.

Penn State’s Blue-White Game showed the Nittany Lions are still a bit of a work in progress in some key areas, but there were still some players and developments worth being optimistic about moving into the summer. And the final box score from a spring scrimmage like Penn State’s can oftentimes be misleading or unnecessarily overanalyzed. Nonetheless, it is a starting point for evaluating just where the Nittany Lions are heading once the 2022 season begins.

So, with the caution of not wanting to get too carried away with the official stats shared by Penn State from the Blue-White Game on Saturday afternoon, let’s dive headfirst into the key stats from the final spring practice of the season before Penn State moves to the next stage of its offseason.

And why not start with the quarterback position?

Quarterbacks

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
  • [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag]: 5-of-14, 75 yards
  • [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag]: 6-of-14, 61 yards, 2 interceptions, 1 sack
  • [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag]: 4-of-7, 41 yards, 1 touchdown
  • [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag]: 2-of-3, 7 yards, 2 sacks

Sean Clifford had some decent production in his time on the field, including the game’s only touchdown pass (to transfer addition Mitchell Tinsley. Clifford also had the best performance from passers in seven-on-seven drills, for whatever that is worth.

Christian Veilleux had the most complete performance among those vying for backup consideration to Clifford. This could have been expected given he already has some in-game experience from last season.

Don’t get too down when reviewing the stat line for five-star quarterback Drew Allar, because he was not given much help at times by his receivers dropping passes or having a ball bounce off their hands. But he did have a number of throws that seemed to be just a tad behind his intended targets. And Beau Pribula also had some freshman moments, which was to be expected.

NEXT: Who were the top running backs in the Blue-White Game?

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5 takeaways from Penn State’s Blue-White spring game

5 takeaways form Penn State’s Blue-White Gme

Penn State head coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] admitted the 2022 Blue-White Game may not have been the best way to entertain fans and answer questions for the media, but he seemed to be pleased with the development of his team as the spring practices came to a close. Saturday’s Blue-White Game allowed plenty of players on the roster to get some opportunities to shine and, more importantly, just get some playing time in a scrimmage format.

With a roster with some key freshmen just joining the program, the expectations are high. But for a team coming off a pair of mediocre seasons, Penn State’s Blue-White Game may have felt a tad underwhelming for some fans watching.

But there are some takeaways you can have from what was largely a glorified scrimmage with a modified scoring system. Here are five that stood out to me.