Dennis Henry Onkotz (born February 6, 1948) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

, twice earning consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors. He suffered a career ending injury during his first and only season with the Jets.

Early life

Onkotz was born on February 6, 1948, in

Northampton, Pennsylvania Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 10,395 as of the 2020 census. Northampton is located north of Allentown, northwest of Philadelphia, and west of New York City. The borough is par ...

. He attended

Northampton Area High School Northampton Area High School is a public high school in the Northampton Area School District and located in Northampton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area of eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had ...

where he was a top player on the football, baseball and basketball teams. He graduated in 1966, as a member of the National Honor Society. In football, Onkotz led the Lehigh Valley League in scoring in 1965, and was all-league. In basketball, from 1963-66 he scored over 1,000 points. In 1966, Onkotz was honored by the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame as a scholar-athlete. In 1989, he was inducted into the Lehigh Valley Football Hall of Fame, at the

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

high school football game between Northampton and Catasauqua. In 2006, he was inducted into the Northampton Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame.

College career

Onkotz attended

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

(Penn State). He was named a consensus or unanimous

at linebacker in 1968 and 1969. Onkotz was the only player to be on

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's (UPI) All-America team both years. He was a second team All-American as a sophomore in 1967. An all-around athlete, Onkotz helped earn Penn State the nickname "Linebacker U," as the first great linebacker in the school tradition; but thanks to his speed he also held the unlikely position of punt returner, with an impressive average of over 13 yards per return. Future

NFL Hall of fame The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The ...

linebacker, and Penn State teammate,

Jack Ham Jack Raphael Ham Jr. (born December 23, 1948) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1971 to 1982. He is considered one of the greatest outsi ...

said "' inebacker Ustarted with Dennis Onkotz.'" His coach described him as very intelligent, being seldom out of position and rarely missing an assignment. Onkotz led the team in tackles in 1968 and 1969. As of 2024, he ranks first in school history for interceptions by a linebacker with 11, with only five defensive backs ahead of him in total interceptions. Onkotz amassed 287 tackles, which at one time ranked third on the Lions' career list (but as of 2024 is just outside of the top five). His 11 interceptions are tied for eighth in school history. His three interception returns for touchdowns are a Penn State career record (since tied). He also had two touchdowns on punt returns. In three seasons, he helped the Lions to a 30–2–1 record and three bowl games, including two

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

wins. Onkotz made the 1969 Academic All-America team and was also selected to play in the 1970

Hula Bowl The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida. The game was first s ...

. During the two Orange Bowl seasons (1968-69), Penn State was 11–0 each year. The

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ranked Penn State second in the nation both years. In 1995, he was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

NFL career

Onkotz was selected in the third round of the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 NFL draft was the 35th National Football League draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1970, at the Belmont ...

by the

. However, during a goal line stand on defense against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in his rookie season, the Rams' fullback hit Onkotz and his leg snapped. He was in a cast for five months, with pins in his leg. The severely broken leg effectively ended his professional career after just nine games played. Onkotz was traded to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, and after a year attempted a comeback, but did not make the team. He tried another unsuccessful comeback with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

Personal life

After his short professional career, Onkotz attended graduate school at Penn State. As an undergraduate, he had gotten a degree in

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

. Onkotz is a financial planner and affiliated with the Pennsylvania Financial Group. He married Diane Carol (Imp) Onkotz in 1968, and they reside in

Boalsburg, Pennsylvania Boalsburg is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Harris Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,722 at ...

near Penn State. He has four daughters, Dana, Gretchen, Rachel, and Carly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onkotz, Dennis 1948 births Living people Players of American football from Pennsylvania All-American college football players American football linebackers College Football Hall of Fame inductees New York Jets players Penn State Nittany Lions football players Northampton Area High School alumni Sportspeople from Northampton County, Pennsylvania