Penn State football offensive lineman Nick Dawkins was the recipient of the 2024 Wuerffel Trophy, an award given "to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field."
Dawkins' work is more than a service to him, though. The Nittany Lion started his own nonprofit organization, Dawkins Family Foundation, in honor of his father Darryl who passed in Aug. 2015 and his uncles.
"Everything is," Dawkins said when asked about what he does to honor his father. "I think the greatest gift you can be given is your last name and it's your job to add more value to it. So, every time I wake up, I'm thinking 'How can I add more value to my last name? How can I make my family proud? And how can I make this Penn State football family proud?'"
The foundation provides an empowering mentorship program to support education of underserved youth. This includes providing school supplies and scholarships among other things to provide for their future. During 2025 Big Ten Media Days, Dawkins talked about a book drive the foundation recently held as well as three scholarship applications that just closed.
"We just try to provide opportunities," Dawkins said. "Wasted potential is something that we want to alleviate in this country."
2024 Wuerffel Trophy Winner Nick Dawkins talks giving back to his community, and honoring his late father Darryl Dawkins ❤️#B1GFootball x @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/UD2lPREvDp
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) July 23, 2025
Dawkins is entering is entering his redshirt senior+ season with the Nittany Lions. Alongside the Wuerffell Trophy, he was named captain of the Allstate Good Works Team in 2024-25. For his on the field efforts, he was given an All-Big Ten honorable mention by media as a redshirt senior.
As a Penn State captain last season, he started all 16 games last season and allowed only two sacks. Coming back to Happy Valley, Dawkins and the rest of his offensive line have big goals in mind. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein believes the Nittany Lions can win the Joe Moore Award with one of the best offensive lines in the country heading into 2025-26.
"One of my favorite awards in all of college football is the Joe Moore Award, because it's really not an individual award, it's a unit award. I think we got a chance to win that award this year," head coach James Franklin said, according to Joel Haas. "We have probably eight guys that we think could start for us."
The Joe Moore Award is one thing, but the entire Penn State team has a common goal in mind, which is winning the national championship. Returning veterans came back with a plan in mind to get the job done, get further in the College Football Playoffs, and bring the title back home to Penn State.
"A lot of guys committed to the process, committed to something bigger than themselves," Dawkins said, according to Haas. "And when you have a cohesive group like that, a group of leaders, a group of young guys that are just bought in, you want to be a part of history."