Watch Dominic DeLuca Interception vs. Maryland: "He is the Man!"

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• DeLuca Delivers "Pick Six" Times Leader
• DeLuca "Nice Guy" Keeps on Delivering-Citizens Voice

Times Leader

STATE COLLEGE — So it wasn’t exactly how every football player dreams these things up.
Dominic DeLuca did not get all of the ball as he burst through the line to rush the punter. He did not send the punt flying backward, scooping it up himself and returning it for a touchdown in front of 109,000 fans in primetime.
But the former Wyoming Area star got just enough of it — just enough — to start a huge second-half surge for Penn State on Saturday night.
With the Nittany Lions leading Minnesota by just seven points, DeLuca picked up his first career block on special teams in college, leading to the first of four second-half touchdowns that turned a tight game into a 45-17 rout at Beaver Stadium.
More than that, he cemented the admiration of his coach and teammates in his first full college season.
“He’s really paid his dues and worked really hard,” James Franklin said of DeLuca. “A guy who missed, basically, his freshman year after winning a state championship with an injury, he’s done everything right since he’s gotten in the program.
“To see him make the play was awesome. I’m proud of him.”
DeLuca, a redshirt freshman linebacker for the Lions, has made a quick impact on special teams. In the season-opener, he made two big stops of Purdue standout Charlie Jones on kickoff returns, earning him a selection as a game captain for the home opener the following week.
On Saturday, Minnesota stalled on its opening drive of the second half and was looking to pin Penn State deep. Twice earlier in the game, Golden Gophers punter Mark Crawford had given the Lions trouble with deep kicks, one that was muffed by return man Parker Washington.
This time, DeLuca managed to shimmy past the first blocker and then sprint in between the two personal protectors, laying out to get a piece of the ball with his left hand.
“It opened wide open for me, and I just made the play,” DeLuca said. “… It hit the left side of my right hand, hit my fingertip. Wish I got more of it, but it happened. I felt it right away.”
The kick wobbled and landed about 20 yards from the line of scrimmage with a bounce for a net of 28 yards. Instead of backed up toward their own end zone, the Lions took over at their 36.
DeLuca got congratulations on the sideline from both special teams coordinator Stacy Collins — whom DeLuca credited for the alignment and the opportunity — and defensive coordinator Manny Diaz.
The offense made it pay off. Four plays later, Washington made a terrific leaping grab in the end zone that put Penn State up multiple scores for the rest of the night.
In at linebacker in the fourth quarter, DeLuca also came up with a nice stop for no gain on third down.
Beyond any individual play, though, DeLuca is happy to be contributing for a top-25 squad after his career was interrupted by a knee injury in his final high school game — Wyoming Area’s state title victory in 2019.
“Coach Franklin’s always been on my side and always showing love for me,” DeLuca said. “He really helped me after my injury in high school, and he really got my hopes back up.”

A Memorable Home Opener for WVC Alums Dominic DeLuca, Robbie Dwyer

Times Leader

STATE COLLEGE — Dominic DeLuca couldn’t have guessed this was coming.
The Penn State linebacker and former Wyoming Area standout had a strong debut on special teams a week earlier at Purdue. But he didn’t expect the performance would earn him a spot as a captain for the Nittany Lions home opener.
DeLuca’s success story continued on Saturday when the West Pittston native was at midfield for the coin toss at Beaver Stadium as one of four captains for the game against Ohio.
The news was delivered on Thursday from coach James Franklin. DeLuca said Franklin credited the honor for his work last week — two clean tackles inside the 20 on kickoff coverage, one at the end of each half.
“It was awesome. It was a great surprise,” DeLuca said. “I wouldn’t think something like that would happen this early, but it was fun.”
DeLuca promptly responded by staying on the field for the opening kickoff, running down and making the tackle to start the game.
He topped his performance from last week, finishing with five tackles, all solo stops. Three came on kickoffs and two came at linebacker.
Though he arrived as a preferred walk-in, DeLuca has already become a regular for the Lions as a redshirt freshman. Between his special teams work and his role as a top backup at linebacker, DeLuca is in line to see plenty of snaps throughout the season.
“It’s become more natural, getting more reps,” said DeLuca, who played quarterback and safety at Wyoming Area and was moved to linebacker soon after joining the team early in 2021. “Just learning the gap schemes, who I’m reading and where I’m going on the read. Just doing that it took me a little bit of time, but all of the older guys … took me under their wing and taught me their ways. And I’m very thankful for that.”
Many of the guys DeLuca credited for helping him along — Jesse Luketa, Ellis Brooks and Brandon Smith — are off to the NFL. So the opportunity has been there for guys like DeLuca and fellow Wyoming Valley Conference alum Robbie Dwyer.
A backup at middle linebacker, Dwyer picked up his first two career tackles on Saturday in the second half. Dwyer, who played at Wyoming Valley West and Wyoming Seminary, likely prevented a touchdown with his first stop as he dropped Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro short of the end zone on first-and-goal. The defense ultimately held the Bobcats to a field goal.
It’s a day that DeLuca and Dwyer won’t soon forget.
“It’s a dream come true for me, playing for Penn State,” DeLuca said. “Just to be out there again playing with everyone, with Penn State, it’s a crazy feeling. I loved it.”

Times Leader

For Dominic DeLuca, it was three months shy of three years between tackles in a live game.
The last one had come in the first week of December in 2019. Playing quarterback and safety despite a torn ACL, DeLuca helped lead Wyoming Area to an incredible rally and a state championship in Hershey.
On the first week of September in 2022, DeLuca, now a linebacker at Penn State, was not going to miss this opportunity.
Playing on the kickoff team on the final play of the first half in Thursday’s season opener at Purdue, DeLuca saw the Boilermakers’ Charlie Jones take the ball out of the end zone, hoping to break off a miracle touchdown return.
DeLuca made sure he didn’t even reach his own 15-yard line.
The West Pittston native got downfield, stopped as Jones made a cut toward an opening and then quickly filled the gap, taking Jones’ legs out from under him to end the half.
It was DeLuca’s first career collegiate tackle. And No. 2 was even bigger.
Penn State had just taken a 35-31 lead with 57 seconds to go. And when Gabe Nwosu’s ensuing kickoff didn’t reach the end zone, the Boilers were looking for a big return to spark a potential winning drive.
Once again Jones fielded the kick. Once again, DeLuca was there to stop him, getting down the field quickly and dropping Jones at the 19.
Purdue never got across midfield on the drive, sealing a Penn State victory.
It was a long time coming for DeLuca, who won a state MVP award as a senior at Wyoming Area and then accepted an offer as a preferred walk-on for the Nittany Lions in early 2020.
Between the rehab on his knee and the onset of the pandemic, DeLuca didn’t enroll at Penn State until January 2021. He spent a short time working with the safeties before being moved to linebacker, where he has quickly worked his way up the depth chart.
DeLuca redshirted last season while appearing in three games, predominately on special teams. His work in practice drew attention from the coaches, who named him a Developmental Squad Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
He followed that up with an impressive Blue-White Game performance that saw him pick up a pair of interceptions and a sack.
Working on the kickoff team last fall typically involved running down the field and watching the kicks of NFL draft pick Jordan Stout sail through the end zone.
His responsibilities have picked up since then.
Though Penn State no longer releases an official depth chart, it appears DeLuca has already claimed a spot on the two-deep behind senior Jonathan Sutherland at outside linebacker.
Before making that first tackle on Thursday, DeLuca stepped in for Sutherland in the second quarter with Purdue backed up inside its own 5-yard line.
Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who also works directly with the linebackers, didn’t hesitate to use DeLuca on the blitz, twice sending him after Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell in the end zone.
Though he wasn’t credited with a QB hurry on the stat sheet, DeLuca got into the backfield on a pair of incomplete passes as the Boilers went three-and-out. The ensuing punt led to good field position, which turned into a Lions touchdown.
Not a bad start for DeLuca, who isn’t the only former local standout to draw praise from the coaches this year.

Fellow walk-on linebacker Robbie Dwyer, who played at Wyoming Valley West and Wyoming Seminary, also saw the field Thursday on special teams.
Lions coach James Franklin went out of his way during training camp last month to talk about Dwyer.
“The guy I want to give some credit to and some love to is Dwyer,” Franklin said. “Dwyer’s done a great job. In some ways, he kind of reminds me of the Jan Johnson story. Jan went from a scout team tight end to the starting middle linebacker. I’m pretty proud of (Dwyer) as well.
“There’s a number of guys, but he’s a guy I’ve been making a big deal out of with the team. I think he’s going to have a huge special teams role for us this year. I’m really proud of him, and I think you guys will see it.”

From The Nittany Lion Wire: "The standout star was Dominic Deluca, a redshirt freshman linebacker who came out of nowhere to pick off two passes and record a sack to earn some MVP consideration for the spring game. It may not be what is needed to drastically change the outlook for the linebacker position, but it is always fun watching a player few would have been paying close attention to spring up and put on a show." READ ENTIRE ARTI CLE

Penn Live Article

Times Leader: Wyoming Area Alum Dominic DeLuca Makes Big Impact at Blue-White Game

One of the area’s most popular podcasts is trying to market one of the area’s best known athletes.
The “On The Stacks” podcast, a new creation by Bill Corcoran Jr., has entered into an agreement with Penn State football player Dominic DeLuca, a local sports hero who helped deliver a state championship to the Wyoming Area team in 2019.
In the college sports world, they call it a name, image and likeness deal, or an “NIL,” a new way for athletes to profit of their star power without violating NCAA rules.
Corcoran, 33, doesn’t know if either will immediately profit at all, but he wants to promote DeLuca thinking it’s a win-win for the both of them.
Plus, Corcoran is a Penn State alumnus.
“We are both from Northeast Pennsylvania. We both have roots here. I’m a Penn State alumni. He’s a current Penn State student. We align, our roots and everything about us. I think it will be cool to feed off his personal brand and feed off each other,” Corcoran said.
Corcoran, an executive with his family’s Wilkes-Barre printing business, said DeLuca was a legendary local athlete.
“Being able to use his image and likeness helps the podcast to grow and it will give us a wide audience. It opens the doors to his network and vice versa,” Corcoran said.
DeLuca was the quarterback of the Warriors team that won the state title.
“I am proud to partner with Bill and the “On The Stacks” podcast. I look forward to expanding my network, building my personal brand and collaborating any way we can,” DeLuca said.
Corcoran is a 2011 public relations graduate of Penn State.
His podcast is regularly followed by thousands of people, having reached viewers on all seven continents. Some notable guests include Rob Nelson, founder of Big League Chew; former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin; and Todd Carmichael, co-founder of La Colombe Coffee Roasters.
“I’m very excited to partner with a student-athlete from my alma mater,” Corcoran said. “Since Dominic and I both have roots in NEPA, I thought he would be great fit as our first official sponsored athlete and I am looking forward to working with him on his NIL deal.”