Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1495456
3 2 A P R I L 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M D efensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton had an impactful freshman season at Penn State last fall, playing in all 13 games and totaling 17 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 pass deflections and an inter- ception. He played 225 snaps overall, which ranked fifth on the team at his position. Now preparing for his sophomore season, the former On3 five-star pros- pect out of McDonogh School in Mary- land wants to double his game reps. To do that, though, he knows he needs to improve. Asked recently what he's been focus- ing on, the 6-foot-5, 262-pound Den- nis-Sutton struggled to narrow his list. "So many things," he said. "Just learning the game. Obviously, I'm a young player and I missed out on one of my [high school] years because of COVID. So, there are just a lot of things — learning the game, becom- ing bigger, faster, stronger, all those things. They definitely play a big role. "Coming out of my stance — that was a big thing I had this past season," he added. "Me being a taller guy, I would naturally start to rise up coming out of my stance. So, just coming out of the chute ev- ery day [in practice], striking the bag — if there was one thing, I'd say that. But just all around, I have to work on everything." The Nittany Lions sustained a key graduation loss with the departure of Nick Tarburton, who started 21 games during the past two seasons. However, junior Chop Robinson is looking like a very formidable re- placement, espe- cially after bulking up to 253 pounds this offseason, 14 pounds above his playing weight last year. In addition, the Lions return redshirt senior Adisa Isaac at the opposite de- fensive end spot. Isaac started all 13 Less Pain, Less Pain, More Gain More Gain For Dani Dennis-Sutton, the path to excellence requires a thoughtful approach to physical training R Y A N S N Y D E R | R YA N. S N Y D E R @ O N 3 . C O M Dennis-Sutton played in all 13 games and finished with 3 sacks in his debut season with the Nittany Lions. PHOTO BY DANIEL ALTHOUSE