Penn State football OC Andy Kotelnicki says Nick Dawkins is a ‘rare’ leader and person

The Penn State football team will be in good hands with the offensive line group they have this fall. That’s largely due to the coaching job that Phil Trautwein has done since his time with the Nittany Lions. But it’s also a testament to the type of players that James Franklin recruits. First-year Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki went out of his way to share his high praise for senior center Nick Dawkins during his media availability on Saturday.

Nick Dawkins has patiently waited his turn to be the starting center for the Penn State football team. With fall camp underway, he has made a tremendous impression as he continues to battle for that starting role this fall. Regardless of the outcome, it’s clear that the intangibles that Dawkins brings to the table go beyond what he can do on the field.

Andy Kotelnicki made sure to let the media know how much he respects and appreciates the senior center on Saturday.

“I will say this about Nick Dawkins, he is one of a kind,” Kotelnicki said. “And I have coached long enough to know when you’re interacting with a special person that’s in their early 20s or late teens and he is a special one. If you guys ever get a chance to interact with him, his maturity, his authenticity it just screams when you interact with him.

“I tell our staff, we can never take for granted the kind of leader and person he is because he is rare. And because of that, you anticipate a guy like that to be special, you really really do, because he has those characteristics.”

Other offensive linemen have been snapping the ball

Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-USA TODAY Sports

While the center position on the offensive line is important, the amount of players who can step in and play the position is equally as important. The last thing a football team needs when the center goes out of the game is to not be able to get the snap to the quarterback.

Nick Dawkins is trending in the direction to be the starting center this fall, Andy Kotelnicki also mentioned other players who have been taking snaps during fall camp as well.

“Nick [Dawkins] has been taking most of the reps there. Vega [Ioane] has been snapping the ball, Sal [Wormley] has been doing it, and then Ruli [Nolan Rucci] and those guys have been snapping it on a consistent basis for us…”