Meet Penn State football's 2024 season captains
Penn State football has picked its captains ahead of the 2024 season. The Nittany Lions needed almost an entirely new list of player leaders this fall after five of the six captains from a year ago moved on following the 2023 season. Redshirt junior and special teams ace Dominic DeLuca is the only returning captain, and he will carry the title for the second year in a row. While it may feel like the selections are arriving late, this is a fairly standard announcement time. It’s true that, in years past, a select group of players earned the honor of being a captain coming out of spring practice before the full list was released around this time. This year is different, however.
“We did a vote [a couple of weeks ago], and a lot of times, we do that vote right before the summer starts because we would like to go in to the summer with some of that leadership,” head coach James Franklin said in June. “But, we only make the decision if there’s clear and obvious guys in terms of the vote. Like, if there was one guy dramatically on defense, one guy dramatically on offense that got enough votes, or on special teams to make that decision now, [we would]. And, it wasn’t.
“[Not naming any captains yet] will give us an opportunity to continue to evaluate, give the players more time to earn that from their teammates and from the staff, and then we’ll vote obviously probably a couple of weeks in the camp like we traditionally have.”
Here’s who has earned that opportunity.
Penn State captains on offense
Penn State junior quarterback Drew Allar is one of the Nittany Lions’ captains on offense. Center Nick Dawkins is the other. Allar enters his second season as the starter. Dawkins will be a first-team member for the first time. He will start in the middle of the Lions’ line. Allar recently spoke about how he, and the offense, are prepared to bounce back from adversity in 2024.
“I think that, through the first 11 or 12 practices, that we’re getting a lot more consistent,” Allar said. “I think as an offense, we’re learning how to bounce back quicker. Obviously, sometimes the defense is going to get us because they’re just that talented. But, I think we’re doing a really good job on offensive building that leadership and just learning how to bounce back quicker. But I think we’re in a really good spot as an offense.”
Nittany Lion captains on defense
Middle linebacker Kobe King will be the leader of the Nittany Lions’ defense. He is a first-time captain along with safety KJ Winston Jr., who has earned preseason All-American nods. King returned for another season in State College and will be the voice of defensive coordinator Tom Allen on the field this fall.
“I’m making new mistakes,” King said earlier this month. “I would say for me being a player that’s a vet, that guys look up to, I will definitely say I have a bigger voice and I’m using it, too. I’m coaching guys up on the sideline to ask them what they see on the field, actually going up to guys, asking them what they did wrong and how they can do better. I’m just trying to get better every day.”
Who are the special teams captains?
DeLuca is the only returning captain. He’s joined on special teams by second-year punter Riley Thompson. Thompson is back with the Nittany Lions for another two seasons after earning extra eligibility from the NCAA last year.
“I was wrapped,’ Thompson said. The Cambridge Dictionary says that is Australian’s informal way of saying they are extremely happy or excited.
“I definitely wanted to play more. I love this team, [and] I love everything that we’ve got going here. And, I think there’s so much more left out there for us. I just want to help the team as much as I could.”
