Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507572
3 2 O C T O B E R 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 came to Penn State last year as a highly touted recruit with the potential to find an on-field role early in his career. He had been a five-star prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking coming out of McDonogh High in Ow- ings Mills, Md., and was poised to parlay a stellar high school career into collegiate snaps as a true freshman. The transition from high school to college football is often more chal- lenging than expected for players in the trenches, but Dennis-Sutton was unfazed by the difficulty of what he was attempting. He was listed at 255 pounds on National Signing Day for the 2022 recruiting class. By the time Penn State headed to West Lafayette, Ind., for its season opener against Purdue nearly nine months later, he was down a pound to 254 but was significantly more defined in the upper and lower body. His offseason preparation led to nine snaps against the Boilermakers. Dennis-Sutton then cleared the double-digit play mark in every con- test that followed, highlighted by a 25-snap afternoon against Indiana that included 3 tackles and his first career interception. He finished the year with 17 stops, 3 sacks, and a Freshman All-America nod from ESPN.com. It was a fine, and productive, first year. But it was really about building for this fall and beyond. Dennis-Sutton was a rotational player at this time a year ago. Now, he's arguably a co-starter alongside Penn State's listed first-team de- fensive ends, junior Chop Robinson and redshirt senior Adisa Isaac. Last September, Dennis-Sutton had no way of knowing how many reps he would see each week. Now, he will be among the defensive lead- ers. He played the second-most snaps at the position, 42, in the Nit- tany Lions' season-opening 38-15 win over West Virginia. And he went through preseason camp and game week prep fully confident in not only FEEL THE BURN A passion for football and a fierce desire for success have fueled Dani Dennis-Sutton's quick development into a defensive playmaker G R E G P I C K E L | G R E G . P I C K E L @ O N 3 . C O M Although he's a backup, Dennis-Sutton played 42 snaps in the Lions' season opener against West Virginia, the second-most of any defen- sive end. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL