Kiski Area grad Dom DiNinno thrives for Grove City football after switch from WR to CB

When Dom DiNinno first suited up for a Grove City football practice, he knew he had a steep hill to climb if he wanted to steal playing time in a deep wide receivers corps. The position group already had three established upperclassmen.

With Scott Fraser (Knoch), Daniel Sullivan and Ryan Heckathorn gobbling up most of the snaps and catches, DiNinno was limited to one game as a freshman. Last season, all three returned, and while DiNinno got limited playing time over the first two games — he caught his first collegiate pass, a 61-yard touchdown, in the opener against Geneva — it was clear he again would be playing the waiting game.

But all the while, the Kiski Area grad was standing out in practice. To coach Andrew DiDonato and his staff, it was becoming apparent DiNinno couldn’t languish on the sidelines.

“We had a couple of injuries to our DBs last year,” said DiDonato, who led GCC to the Division III playoffs each of the past two seasons, “and we said, ‘Dom is one of our best 22 football players. We have to get him on the field.’ ”

So in midseason, DiNinno was switched to cornerback, a position he hadn’t played before. Not even in high school.

After an adjustment period, DiNinno settled in, and he finished the season with 39 total tackles and five pass breakups, two of those coming in a first-round NCAA game against Johns Hopkins. Also in that game, he tied for the team lead with eight total tackles as Grove City nearly rallied to upset the eventual national semifinalist.

“I was fine doing it,” said DiNinno, now a junior. “I mean, I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team in any way. It was a little tough because I had never played corner before.

“… In high school, I was just more of like a deep third (safety). Corner here, it’s all just man coverage, so just learning the technique and stuff like that was probably the hardest part.”

That wasn’t the only way DiDonato found to get DiNinno on the field. He also served as a return specialist, averaging 21.2 yards on 10 kickoff returns and 6.8 yards on eight punt returns.

He is set to be the Wolverines’ primary kick returner again.

“When we moved him (to corner), we knew the one downfall here is he is pretty special with the ball in his hands,” said DiDonato, in his 10th season at GCC. “Right now, our way to do that is he is our featured punt and kick returner.”

With the 2025 season set to begin and the Wolverines picked to finish second in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, DiNinno has found his comfort level at cornerback. After fine-tuning the footwork and timing that go with the position, DiNinno said he now can play instinctively and not have to overthink every move.

Going up against those aforementioned three receivers in practice also helped him to grow into the position quickly.

“It helped a lot,” he said. “Scott, Sully and all those guys, they’re some of the best receivers I’ve ever played against, so getting that experience every day, it helped a ton.”

DiNinno will be a big part of a defense that figures to be the Wolverines’ strength. Whereas the offense lost almost all of its starters from 2024, eight starters return on defense. They helped Grove City rank fifth in the nation in scoring defense (11.45 points against per game) and sixth in total defense (231.9 yards per game).

Having helped to solidify that unit, DiNinno is unlikely to be switching back to receiver anytime soon.

“There have been stretches in camp when I don’t think we’ve completed one pass his way,” DiDonato said. “He now is just playing free. … How many pass breakups and interceptions he has had in camp, it’s been phenomenal to see.”