Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544053
2 4 A P R I L 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M R edshirt senior Dominic Rulli has just one start to his name in 42 games as a Penn State offensive lineman. But numbers alone don't tell the story of a player whom former teammate Nick Dawkins once called the "the heartbeat" of the Nittany Lions' offensive line room. Rulli's lone start came in Penn State's 22-10 victory over Clemson in the Pin- stripe Bowl in December. The former walk-on stepped in after Dawkins opted out of the game, and he paved the way for then-freshman running back Quin- ton Martin Jr. to rush for a career- high 103 yards in the season-ending victory. In the process, R u l l i s e e m i n g l y staked a claim for the starting posi- tion in 2026, with Dawkins having exhausted his eligibil- ity. But before he could begin thinking about his final collegiate season, Rulli had to make sure he had a spot under new head coach Matt Campbell. When the transfer portal opened in early Janu- ary, Rulli had no desire to seek out po- tentially greener pastures. "It was never really in my mind that I didn't want to come back to Penn State. It was more a question of, did Penn State want me back?" Rulli said. "And I feel like that was [the case] for a lot of guys. I love Penn State, I love this area. If I had the chance, I wanted to come back. I wanted to finish out my career here. "It's hard for me. I'm very academic- based, so for me to say I did 98 percent of my degree at Penn State, and then leave and go to maybe a smaller school and get a degree that doesn't really mean as much to me [wasn't appealing]. Finishing it out, being able to come back to Penn State — that means a lot more to me than money could." The new coaches told him he would have an opportunity to compete for the job that Dawkins had held the past two seasons. With that assurance, Rulli went right back to work. A Fierce Competition A native of Burlington, Ky., Rulli found his way to Penn State after four years at The Taft School in Connecticut, where he was a four-year letterman and a team captain. He earned the Nittany Lions' Outstanding Walk-On award in 2023 and has played in every game from that season onward, mostly on special teams. Rulli is listed on the Lions' 2026 spring roster at 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, but he recently said he's tipping the scales at nearly 305 pounds, the heavi- est he's been in his Penn State career. He has had talks with Campbell and offen- sive line coach Ryan Clanton about the staff's mindset on playing the best five available offensive linemen, which was part of what sold him on coming back in the first place. The competition for the center job should be fierce. Campbell and Clanton went to the transfer portal to grab one of the nation's most coveted players at the position in Brock R i k e r, a Fr e s h - man All-American at Texas State last year. Now a redshirt sophomore, Riker had an impressive list of suitors but signed with the Nit- tany Lions and en- rolled for the spring semester. Rulli wasn't caught off-guard when Penn State landed the 6-4, 291-pound transfer. The Lions have virtually no starting experience at center, so it made sense for them to prioritize the position during the January transfer window. In the weeks since Riker enrolled, the two have struck up a healthy competition. "We lift together. We work out to- gether," Rulli said. "He's going to be a great football player. He is a great foot- ball player. When he was signed, I was already signed back, already commit- "I started as a walk-on, and I earned pretty much everything I've gotten at Penn State. And I want to be the starter. I don't think that's a shock to anybody for me to say that. But I want to compete. I want to prove it. I don't want to be given anything." R U L L I ONE BATTLE NE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER FTER ANOTHER Former walk-on Dominic Rulli stands ready to fight for a starting position on the Nittany Lions' offensive line S E A N F I T Z | S E A N . F I T Z @ O N 3 . C O M