Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
1 6 A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Few Penn State football players are better equipped than redshirt junior Dominic DeLuca to assess the changes the program has made this offseason with the hiring of three new coordinators. DeLuca has worked closely with two of those newcomers. A redshirt junior linebacker, he's had a front- row seat for the transition from Manny Diaz to Tom Allen, the latter having taken charge of the defense after seven seasons as head coach at Indiana. DeLuca has also been a standout on the kick-coverage teams and has seen former Syracuse and Vander- bilt assistant Justin Lustig succeed Stacy Collins as special teams co- ordinator. Following his redshirt sopho- more season, DeLuca won the John Bruno Memorial Award, which goes to the Nittany Lions' most outstanding special teams player. Named a captain last summer, he finished with 29 tackles to rank seventh on the team. He recently spoke with Penn State beat report- ers about the Lions' new coordinators and other topics. QUESTION: We've heard Manny Diaz described as someone you want to run through a wall for, and Tom Allen as someone who explains why you're run- ning through the wall. What has Allen been like as a teacher, and how does he communicate his philosophy to you? DOMINIC DeLUCA: "Coach Allen really simplifies everything. He tries to make sure you know why you're doing everything. I feel like that's a really big emphasis for him. He always tries to do that — make sure we understand every- thing that goes on in the defense. "Coach Diaz did the same thing as well. Coach Allen is just doing it a dif- ferent way, and he's more personal with us and having talks. Even just the way he is every day, he's always positive, always has a positive attitude and always wants the best for us." QUESTION: With Abdul Carter moving from linebacker to the defensive line, what has the competition been like for the snaps that are going to be avail- able this season? DeLUCA: "We have great lineback- ers. We have a lot of depth. We have a lot of young kids, too. It's going to be a competition. … It's exciting for the season." QUESTION: What was your re- action when Abdul made that move? Did you have a sense that it was in the works? DeLUCA: "Kind of a sense. Last year, he played a little bit against Maryland at defensive end in our third-down pack- age. Wherever you put Abdul Carter on the field, he's going to make plays. He's going to be disruptive, and he's going to get to the quarterback. It doesn't mat- ter where we put him. He's just a freak athlete and really, really great to learn from." QUESTION: In addition to defense, you've had a pretty big role in the kicking game at Penn State. What has it been like working with Jus- tin Lustig in his first year as special teams coordinator? DeLUCA: "Coach Lustig really likes when we talk during meetings. He gets upset when no one talks, and he starts yelling at us — in a good way. It's understandable, be- cause special teams are one-third of the game. You really only have one shot. He says one shot, one kill. That's really all we get. You don't really do special teams plays that often, so you've got to be on your P's and Q's on what you're doing and what your responsibility is." QUESTION: What's the next step for Penn State in terms of get- ting to the national championship level? What do you need to do to reach that goal now that the 12-team playoff is here? DeLUCA: "We've got to prepare for a longer season now. You've got to have depth at all positions. We've been emphasizing that a lot. You've got 15, 16 games to make it to the na- tional championship. So, you've got to really take care of your body. Everyone has got to stay healthy. It's really just a next-man-up mentality. Everyone has got to be prepared to play." QUESTION: Up until this season, teams had to be nearly perfect to make the playoff, but now there's going to be a little more margin for error. Does that create a different feeling this time of year, knowing that there's a better opportunity to be in that conversation about playing for the national title? DeLUCA: "There's always that goal to have an undefeated season and just go 1-0 each week. That's a really big thing that we try to focus on. "We're focusing on West Virginia right now and preparing for that game in Morgantown [to open the season]. It'll be a great environment to play in, and I'm pretty excited for it. We've al- ways had those one or two losses, but we're really excited for this season." ■ Sitting Down With Redshirt Junior Linebacker Dominic DeLuca DeLuca ranked seventh on the team last year with 29 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and a sack. He also had a pair of interceptions. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL