PENN STATER: Why is philanthropy important to you?

NICK DAWKINS: I have so many people in my life that should be where I’m at or better, and they weren’t able to get where they needed to be because of lack of resources, lack of influences, role models, circumstances, and I think if they would have had someone like the person I am trying to become in life, if they would have had access to resources and people, mentorship, they would be successful. I want them to be successful. I think wasted potential is one of the greatest epidemics of humanity. I’m inspired by a fear of being average, by the fear of not living up to my potential. So anything I can do to provide that, anything I can do to help provide simple things for people to get where they need to be, is probably my life’s mission, to be honest with you.

 

PS: As someone who was already an established student-athlete when NIL started, what is your take on NIL and what is one way you think it can be improved upon?

DAWKINS: I think with NIL, a lot of the thing is our perception of it. You hear ‘NIL’ and all you think of is paychecks. This is your name, image, and likeness. That’s your character, your personality, your image, what people perceive you to be. I think people get so lost in just NIL equals checks and things like that as opposed to the person that you are presenting to the masses, to the fans, to your teammates. Everybody has NIL. My mom has NIL, essentially. She has a name, image, and likeness that can be interpreted by people. So when people hear ‘NIL,’ they have to utilize, how are you trying to better your name, image, and likeness? Me, for example, my last name is the biggest blessing I’ve been bestowed. How can I make it better than when it was given to me? Your image—how are you helping people? How are you trying to make this world a better place? And your likeness—what do people think of when you’re not in the room? What’s your character like? When you meet and talk to people, what is the impression you’re leaving? I think we get so stuck on the complexities of what it is, we forget about how simple the three letters are and how simple it is just to be human.

 

PS: You signed a “Next in Line” NIL deal with WWE back in January 2023. What are you doing with WWE these days?

DAWKINS: Not much, quite honestly. It’s almost like an ambassador program where you represent the WWE and get to go to some matches and stuff. Whenever I’m done with football, I have the opportunity to go to their organization and start training to compete in the WWE. So it’s kind of like a bridge to the WWE. They try to recruit athletes that can have more of a foothold in that realm, and lot of us have good personalities, too.

 

PS: How did that come together?

DAWKINS: They would come to college campuses and would present what the WWE is, the marketing, the views and impressions you would get from it, the athletes at other colleges who have done it and benefited from it. It’s another avenue of professional sports, is how they were framing it. At the end, they had this thing where you could shoot a promo, and someone put my name up, and I wound up shooting a promo versus the Giant Omos and they got back to me and said, “You did a pretty decent job. Would you have any interest in joining WWE?” I said, “Hell yeah, I’m a huge fan. I watched it growing up.” They onboarded me to their NIL program, went out to their facility, and it was cool being around that and shooting some video with them.

 

PS: If your dad [the late former NBA star Daryl Dawkins] was around today and somebody said, “What’s Nick up to these days?” what would be one of the first things you would want him to say?

DAWKINS: As simple as it sounds, “the right thing.” I was always raised to do the right thing. He always said, “Do the right thing, and illusion is a choice.” The reality is, if you know your morals, when it comes down to a situation, you know in your gut what the right thing to do is. That’s why every time I make a decision I’m always like, “Is this going to benefit my family, is this going to benefit me? Is this going to put anyone in danger?” Doing the right thing and helping people.

 

PS: As a center, what is your favorite type of play call?

DAWKINS: I would probably say any sort of outside zone play. I think later in the game, as the d-linemen get tired, lateral movement tends to be something that messes them up. So if I have a nose tackle, I might be able to reach him quicker and get up to the linebacker, and that springs so many different lanes for the running back to cut back up and make an explosive play. Outside zone or any sort of GT power counter that I’m able to snap and pull.

 

PS: How do you feel you’ve progressed as a player since you got to Penn State?

DAWKINS: I feel I’ve become a lot more versatile. Last year I played left guard, right guard, and center. I understand that I need to be a plug-and-play guy; wherever they need me is where I play. Being in the middle at the center, you learn better communication tools to effectively communicate with your guys when it’s loud, when it’s hot, when everyone’s tired. I think that’s the responsibility of the man in the middle, to make sure everyone’s on track, and always preparing for whatever look they might throw at us, that I’ve got everybody going in the right direction. And I take that responsibility seriously as the quarterback of the offensive line.

 

PS: I saw an interview where you talked about how competitive you are in basically everything. How have you used your competitiveness to motivate and help the guys around you?

DAWKINS: I would say I’m a huge, huge motivational guy. I’m always trying to find ways to better myself. I watch a lot of motivational speeches, read a lot of books. And I think that vocal leadership is something that’s kind of dying in the media generation of today. So being able to find ways to relate to my guys, situations in their past, their goals for the future, what they want, what they desire, what they believe, is something that’s huge. Any way that when we’re working out, maybe chirping at somebody to get them activated to try to beat me, setting the example in that way. Maybe pulling somebody aside and reminding them how they’ve grown and developed and how there’s so much more room for improvement. I take that on as a leader. It’s something that I really care about, is uplifting others, just as how I’ve been uplifted in my day.

 

PS: What’s your favorite spot on campus?

DAWKINS: I would say recently, it’s been the Arboretum. I just went to the museum. It was pretty cool, and I get a lot of serenity and peace from being out there. It really reminds me of how beautiful this campus is, but more importantly, reminds me of what this campus is. I’m able to go out there and sit and mediate and practice mindfulness and just take in the natural beauty and be so appreciative of this opportunity and where my feet are at. I’m at Penn State; this is such an amazing opportunity and I don’t take it lightly either.

 

PS: Who is your favorite musical artist at the moment?

DAWKINS: I listen to a lot of different stuff, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Otis Redding. I really believe in the calm before the storm, so before a game, instead of listening to stuff that’s going to get me jacked up, I like to listen to something calm, because I think in a movie when there’s an explosion, when it goes quiet, the buildup right before it happens actually gets me more juiced up about it. Otis Redding, B.B. Coleman, Rose Royce, and Sade. A lot of old school, not much new school stuff.

 

PS: If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

DAWKINS: Teleportation. A lot of times, I’ve cut it pretty close (to being late), so I think being able to just zap into somewhere as opposed to getting stuck on North Atherton Street because of some random construction.

 

PS: What is something about you that would surprise most people?

DAWKINS: I got a pretty good voice. I can sing pretty well—in the lower octave, of course. I can’t hit those high notes. I grew up in the church, though. I can sing a little bit.

 

PS: What are your future plans beyond football?

DAWKINS: I want to leave my mark in a positive way. I want to impact change and influence. I want to work in the nonprofit sphere probably forever, giving back. Recently, a lot of my friends have been taking jobs in Washington, D.C. in politics and I see what they’re doing already. It’s something that really intrigues me. Looking at policy in this country and being able to enact change is something that’s been on my mind recently and something I would really like to do. D.C. is one of my favorite cities, so maybe when everything is said and done, I might take a stab and see what’s going on in the political sphere of this country.

 

Hometown: Allentown, Pa.

Claim to Fame: President of Penn State chapter of Uplifting Athletes for the 2024 season.

In the Classroom: Dawkins ’23 H&HD is pursuing a graduate certificate in organization development and change essentials.

Favorite spot on campus: The Arboretum

 

 

For more on Nick's life on and off the field, listen to our July/August 2023 interview with him (scroll to the bottom of "Big Man On (and Off) Campus").