Nicholas Paul Dawkins is an American football center for the Penn State Nittany Lions.

He was rated as a three-star recruit and committed to play college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions over offers from schools such as Indiana, Northwestern, Boston College, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia.

[1] During Dawkins first four seasons from 2020 through 2023, he appeared in 26 games for the Nittany Lions with no starts as he played behind future NFL draft picks such as Michal Menet, Juice Scruggs, and Hunter Nourzad.

[2][3] Ahead of the 2024 season, he finally became a starter for the Nittany Lions, becoming the team's starting center for the first time.

[10][11] He is also the cousin of Hall of Fame defensive back Brian Dawkins and NBA all-star Karl-Anthony Towns.