Jesse Luketa

NoteCARDS:

• Selected by Arizona with the team's second pick in the seventh round (256th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Penn State and appeared in 21 games (one start) with 13 tackles, a QB hit and three tackles for loss in his first two seasons (2022-23).
• In addition to his roles on defense and special teams, also saw action on offense for the Cardinals in 2023, with his lone start coming at fullback.
• Grew up in Ottawa, Ontario - the capital city of Canada - and at an early age developed a love of American football. He had to beg his mother to allow him to play as a kid. At the age of 10, began sending letters to schools and agents across the United States expressing his desire to play football at the highest levels.

NoteCARDS:

• Selected by Arizona with the team's second pick in the seventh round (256th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Penn State and appeared in 21 games (one start) with 13 tackles, a QB hit and three tackles for loss in his first two seasons (2022-23).
• In addition to his roles on defense and special teams, also saw action on offense for the Cardinals in 2023, with his lone start coming at fullback.
• Grew up in Ottawa, Ontario - the capital city of Canada - and at an early age developed a love of American football. He had to beg his mother to allow him to play as a kid. At the age of 10, began sending letters to schools and agents across the United States expressing his desire to play football at the highest levels.

Pro Career:

Selected by the Cardinals in the seventh round (256th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Penn State.

2023: Appeared in 14 games (one start) and had 10 tackles (four solo), one tackle for loss, one QB hit and two special teams tackles ... played in the season opener @ Was (9/10), seeing action on both defense and special teams and had three solo tackles ... played vs. NYG (9/17) and had one assisted tackle ... saw game action vs. Dal (9/24) and recorded a QB hit, the first of his career ... played @ SF (10/1) and had one assisted special teams tackle ... made first start of his career at fullback vs. Cin (10/8); played on offense, defense and special teams ... inactive (shoulder) @ LAR (10/15) ... inactive @ Sea (10/22) ... had two tackles on defense and one on special teams vs. Bal (10/29) ... inactive @ Cle (11/5) ... played primarily on special teams in Cardinals win vs. Atl (11/12) ... saw game action on special teams @ Hou (11/19) ... had one tackle vs. LAR (11/26) ... posted one tackle @ Pit (12/3) ... had one tackle for loss vs. SF (12/17) ... recorded one tackle @ Chi (12/24) ... played on special teams @ Phi (12/31) ... saw game action primarily on special teams in the season finale @ Sea (1/7/24).

2022: Saw action in seven games during the regular season and recorded three tackes, one tackle for loss and one special teams tackle ... made NFL debut @ Sea (10/16), seeing action on both defense and special teams ... recorded one tackle and one tackle for loss in Cardinals win vs. NO (10/20) ... had one special teams tackle @ Min (10/30) ... registered two tackles and one TFL @ Atl (1/1/23) ... saw action in regular season finale @ SF (1/8/23).

College:

Played four seasons (2018-21) at Penn State where he appeared in 46 games (18 starts) and totaled 151 tackles, a half-sack, seven tackles for loss, an INT (returned for a TD), eight passes defensed and a fumble recovery ... team captain ... earned third-team All-Big 10 honors from the media and honorable mention from the coaches as a senior.

Personal:

Last name pronounced "loo-KETT-uh" … developed into one of the top recruits in the state of Pennsylvania while attending Mercyhurst Prep (Erie, PA) High School where he was a Pennsylvania Football News 3A Defensive Player of the Year (2017), two-time first-team All-Pennsylvania selection (2016-17) and was named first-team USA Today All-USA Pennsylvania Team (2017) … three-time letterman, three-time team captain and two-time team MVP … helped the Lakers to a 10-1 record and a runner-up finish in the District 10 Class AAA Championship game as a senior after totaling 69 tackles, four INTs and two fumble recoveries … had 88 tackles, 9.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, five INTs (two returned for TDs), and three fumble recoveries as a junior … also lettered in basketball as a junior … has two brothers: Joe Betu and Gino, and four sisters: Leslie, Laura, Sandrine and Guylaine … majored in Criminology.