Jesse Luketa

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Jesse Luketa
Penn State Nittany Lions – No. 40
PositionDefensive end/Outside linebacker
ClassSenior
Personal information
Born: (1999-01-15) January 15, 1999 (age 23)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight247 lb (112 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolMercyhurst Preparatory
(Erie, Pennsylvania)
Career highlights and awards

Jesse Luketa (born January 15, 1999) is a Canadian-born college football defensive end and outside linebacker for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Early life and high school[]

Luketa was born in Ottawa, Ontario and grew up in the city's Heron Gate neighborhood.[1] He was raised in a single parent household by his mother, who immigrated to Canada from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] When Luketa was 14 years old enrolled at Mercyhurst Preparatory School in Erie, Pennsylvania for his final three years of high school.[3] Luketa was rated a four-star recruit and committed to play college football at Penn State from over 40 scholarship offers.[4]

College career[]

Luketa played mostly on special teams during his freshman season.[5] He saw more significant playing time as a sophomore, and made 24 tackles with four passes broken up.[6] Luketa was selected as a team captain going into his junior year and finished the season second on the team with 59 tackles along with 2.5 tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and three passes broken up.[7] Luketa played both linebacker and defensive end as a senior, and was named to the third team All-Big Ten Conference.[8][9] Following the end of the season, he declared that he would be entering the 2022 NFL Draft.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ "From Ottawa to Penn State: Jesse Luketa has heart of a Lion". Ottawa Sun. November 15, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  2. ^ Naylor, Dave (February 2, 2022). "Luketa closing in on NFL dream". TSN.ca. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  3. ^ Carlucci, Mario (April 29, 2017). "Fully committed: U.S. colleges rush to woo Ottawa football phenom Jesse Luketa". CBC.ca. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Bauer, Nate (December 20, 2017). "Signed: LB Jesse Luketa". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  5. ^ Juliano, Joe (June 28, 2019). "After leaving home in Canada for the love of football, Jesse Luketa ready to compete for playing time at Penn State". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  6. ^ "Penn State's Jesse Luketa trained with NHL stars during pandemic". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 30, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  7. ^ "Jesse Luketa's move to defensive end pays off in Penn State win". The Patriot-News. September 11, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  8. ^ Lambert, Zech (September 12, 2021). "Penn State's Jesse Luketa shows his versatility and talent". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  9. ^ "Former Erie high school football stars Scruggs, Luketa, Lucas claim college honors". Erie Times-News. December 14, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  10. ^ "Penn State's Jesse Luketa declares for NFL draft after Outback Bowl loss". Reading Eagle. January 1, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.

External links[]

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