Penn Stater linebacker Dom DeLuca did it. And then he did it again. DeLuca came through in critical moments and intercepted SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings twice in Saturday’s CFP game in Beaver Stadium.
DeLuca’s first interception led to a 23-yard pick-6 touchdown return that gave Penn State the playoff game’s opening score and a lead it never relinquished. DeLuca’s second interception — oops, Jennings did it again, surrendering another pick-6 to PSU’s Tony Rojas — White Outed a PSU offensive fail in the SMU red zone.
The two interceptions came on the biggest stage of DeLuca’s career — in an opening-round game of the College Football Playoff before 106,013 freezing fans. (Game time temp: 25 degrees, with 18 mph winds from the northwest).
Not. A. Surprise. DeLuca may have been a former walk-on who sat out a season before even enrolling at Penn State after a devastating high school injury suffered in the state championship game. But he has emerged as a team leader, on and off the field, and has twice been named a Nittany Lion captain.
DeLuca’s second interception set up a 25-yard rushing TD by Kaytron Allen and a 21-0 lead that eventually Penn State (12-2) built upon to beat SMU (11-3), 38-10. The win earned the Nittany Lions a trip to the CFP quarterfinals on Dec. 31 vs. Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.
It was DeLuca’s second two-pick performance in Beaver Stadium. The first came back in the 2022 Blue-White Game, when — as an unknown — he had two interceptions that got everyone’s attention. And respect.
His two interceptions then, and on Saturday against SMU, hardly surprised anyone, as his coaches and teammates shared on Saturday. Call them The Seven Levels of Domination:
1. DOM THE BALLER AND ROLE MODEL. From head coach James Franklin: “Dom is just — he’s a baller. You talk about a guy who was Pennsylvania Player of the Year, won a state championship on a torn ACL, gray-shirted to be able to come here, came as a walk-on, earned a scholarship. What a shame that there may not be more stories like this in college football with the 105 rule [an impending expansion of the scholarship limit from 85 to 105]. Dom DeLuca may not happen at Penn State. I love Dom and his mom [Ree-Ree] and dad [Carl]. I think he’s a tremendous example for all of our players on the team.
“He’s got a smile on his face. He’s appreciative. He works his tail off. He 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.”
2. DOM THE TEAMMATE, Part I. From fellow pick-6’er Tony Rojas: “Dom’s the same person every day, from when I first stepped on campus. Whether it’s just leaning on the young guys like me or the positive attitude he brings to practice every day or the work ethic. It all meshes together.”
3. DOM THE TEAMMATE, Part 2. From edge rusher and Big Ten defensive POY Abdul Carter: “From Year 1 to Year 3, ask anybody in the building: Dom does everything right. He always does his job at 100%. He’s always in the right position. He just does everything right. And he plays like that on the field because of all of that. It all shows.”
4. DOM THE FOOTBALL SAVANT. From Tom Allen, PSU’s D-coordinator and linebackers coach: “What a testament to his grit and toughness, coming here as a walk-on and earning a scholarship. He’s been a really, really good player for us. You can talk about his savviness. He’s one of the smartest players I’ve ever coached. He spends so much time studying and preparing. He had those huge, huge takeaways ‚ two picks and one for a touchdown. They were just so monumental today.
“Dom really studies the game. He has great awareness and he has the ability to anticipate. His film study helps with that. More than anything, he’s a gifted player. He’s a guy that has come up big for us, and he’s been so consistent each and every week. He deserves all this, all the credit.”
5. DOM THE FORMER QB. At Wyoming Area High School, located between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, DeLuca was a four-year starter, a three-time captain and a two-way standout. As a quarterback, he threw for 3,880 career yards and ran for 1,906 more. He led Wyoming Area to the 2029 Class 3A championship in December 2019. And he did so with a torn ACL.
The injury came in the middle of the third quarter of the title game at Hersheypark Stadium. He missed one play, then went back in. By the start of the fourth quarter, Central Valley led Wyoming Area 14-0. DeLuca responded by throwing two touchdown passes and running for the winning score in the final seconds to lead the Warriors to a come-from-behind 21-14 victory.
From Dom on Saturday when I asked him how, as a former QB, he prepared for SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings: “Growing up as a quarterback, just being able to read defenses was a huge part of it for me. Now, being on defense, it’s helped me play better and read offenses and quarterbacks better — identifying what formations and what plays I get from each formation.”
6. DOM THE BACKUP PSU QB? With Beau Pribula gone as QB2 and Ethan Grunkmeyer looking shaky in his first college football appearance on Saturday — one pick, one completion for nine yards — might some emergency quarterback prep work be in Dom’s future?
DeLuca told me a month ago that he had been bugging the offensive coaches to let him try his hand (and arm) as a secret weapon, à la Tyler Warren. But they just laughed it off. I asked him about it again on Saturday.
“Yeah, I have told Nick [Singleton] a couple of times, that if the offense needs me, I’m ready to step in,” DeLuca said…with only a little bit of a laugh.
7. DOM THE GREAT STORY. Need more Dom? Twice before, I’ve written about Dom’s incredible story at Penn State. He’s humble, gracious, funny, insightful, accomplished and impossible not to root for. The columns are here and here.
