The biggest question on Jesse Luketa’s mind during the covid-19 quarantine wasn’t whether he could stay in shape while apart from his coaches and teammates.

Back home in Ottawa (when he wasn’t connecting with his six older siblings and nieces and nephews), Penn State’s junior linebacker worked out with former World Kickboxing champion Tony Greco and fellow Canadian Claude Giroux, a 13-year NHL veteran and the Philadelphia Flyers captain.

— Jesse Luketa ???? (@OttawasVeryOwn) July 20, 2017

“I’ve known him since I was a kid,” Luketa said of Giroux. “He’s a dude that he does not get tired. Training with him, I always had to be on my P’s and Q’s.”

Former Nashville Predators star Mike Fisher and his wife, country singer Carrie Underwood, also have worked out with Luketa. But he said he didn’t know Underwood was a celebrity until he saw her perform the opening to NBC’s “Football Night in America.”

Fortunately, skating and celebrity recognition are not part of his workout regimen.

“I can’t skate,” said Luketa, a 6-foot-3, 244-pound Mercyhurst Prep graduate. “I never played hockey growing up. It was too expensive.”

Training was the easy part for Luketa, who could replace Jan Johnson as Penn State’s starting middle linebacker this season. The question concerned whether Luketa could cross the border back into the U.S. when it was time to return to campus.

Actually, that turned out to be easier than expected, thanks to a friend offering a ride to the border where a member of the Penn State staff met Luketa and senior safety Jonathan Sutherland, also from Ottawa.

They showed the proper paperwork to authorities, who had been advised of their arrival, and were back in State College on Thursday.

Because of safety restrictions, Luketa is still working out by himself.

“It’s weird, being back in State College. I want to be around all my guys, all my brothers,” he said. “But I have to keep my distance. That’s most important.”

Like all of his teammates, Luketa will spend the next several weeks getting back into football shape. Spring practice was canceled, so no Penn State player has experienced football-type hitting since December.

“I feel very confident. I’m excited,” he said. “I can’t wait to get back on the field with my brothers and be able to display that confidence and swagger.

“I can’t wait to strap (the pads) up. I feel I’m in shape, but it’s not the same way I feel if I was here the past four months.”

Luketa, a second-generation immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is one of four Canadians on Penn State’s roster. Freshman wide receiver Malick Meiga of Montreal and classmate tight end Theo Johnson of Windsor, Ontario, are joining the team this season.

“There is so much talent in Canada,” Luketa said. “At times, I feel it is underappreciated. (I hear others say), ‘Oh, he’s from Canada, maybe he’s not strong enough. He’s not good enough.’

“I love being able to be, quote-unquote, a Canadian ambassador for Penn State.”

His bigger job when drills commence will be anchoring the defense while competing for playing time with junior Ellis Brooks.

Luketa said he learned from Johnson. Now, he must impart that knowledge to others.

“I have to, essentially, be the old vet in the room,” he said. “Guys are looking up to me. The onus is on me.”

Luketa said he and All-American outside linebacker Micah Parsons talk almost every day about Parsons’ hopes this season for winning the Butkus Award that went to Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons last year.

“(Parsons) should have had it,” Luketa said. “It is what it is. There’s a political aspect of things.”

In any case, Luketa said Penn State’s linebacker group might be the best in the nation.

“You see the film,” he said. “I see the kind of work we put in day-in and day-out.

“Call me crazy. Call me what we want. I know the talent we have. I know how we work. I know how hungry we are.

“It’s unmatched. It’s as simple as that.”

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