Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531683
3 6 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M RETURNING STARTERS Dani Dennis-Sutton | DE | Sr. Dennis-Sutton came on strong in the postseason for Penn State. He had 2 sacks and an interception against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl and finished his junior campaign with 13 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. A recipient of honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition, Dennis-Sutton announced in early January that he in- tends to return in 2025. Zane Durant | DT | Sr. Durant had an outstanding junior sea- son for the Nittany Lions, earning honor- able mention All-Big Ten honors while compiling 11 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. Like Dennis-Sutton, he announced in January that he plans to use his final sea- son of eligibility. OTHER RETURNEES Liam Andrews | DT | R-Fr. Andrews had been an offensive lineman in high school and was transitioning to the defensive line during his true freshman season. He did not see action for the Nit- tany Lions in 2024. Kaleb Artis | DT | R-Jr. Hindered by an injury, Artis played on only 23 defensive snaps last season. He did not see action in the team's final five games and finished the season with 4 tackles. Ty Blanding | DT | R-So. Blanding played in six games, finish- ing with 3 tackles, including one for loss against Kent State. De'Andre Cook | DT | R-Fr. Cook played in one game as a true freshman, seeing action in the Lions' regular-season finale against Maryland. Zuriah Fisher | DE | Sr. Fisher missed the entire 2024 campaign after suffering an injury last spring. As of mid-January, he had not said whether he plans to use his final season of eligibility. Alonzo Ford Jr. | DT | Sr. Ford has had some tough breaks since transferring from Old Dominion to Penn State two years ago. He missed the entire 2023 season with an injury, then got hurt again last fall just as he was starting to solidify his role in the defensive tackle rotation. He missed the team's final five games, and while he has another year of eligibility available, he had not confirmed as of mid-January that he intends to use it. He totaled 16 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, before getting hurt. Xavier Gilliam | DE | R-Fr. Gilliam played in three games during his true freshman season and finished with 1 tackle. Max Granville | DE | R-Fr. Granville had originally been part of Penn State's 2025 recruiting class but re- classified just ahead of the 2024-25 aca- demic year and joined the Nittany Lions in time to get on the field as a reserve defensive end this past season. Granville saw action in five games (two regular sea- son, three postseason) and finished with 1 tackle and 1 quarterback hurry. Jaylen Harvey | DE | R-Fr. Harvey played in three games as a true freshman, finishing with 2 tackles, one of which was for a loss. He made the travel squad for the team's trip to Purdue in No- vember and saw action in Penn State's 49-10 romp over the Boilermakers. Jordan Mayer | DE | R-So. Mayer, a Wisconsin transfer, played in 15 games in his first season with the Nittany Lions. He saw most of his action on special teams but had a sack against Maryland and assisted on a sack versus Washington. Joseph Mupoyi | DT | R-So. An edge rusher in high school, Mupoyi transitioned to defensive tackle last year and saw action against Kent State and Washington, finishing the season with 1 tackle. Mason Robinson | DE | R-So. A three-star member of Penn State's 2023 recruiting class, Robinson has yet to see game action for the Nittany Lions. Smith Vilbert | DE | Sr.+ Vilbert will be back for his seventh year in the program next fall. He originally ar- rived as part of the 2019 recruiting class and was granted an extra year after miss- ing the entire 2023 season with an injury. Vilbert had 4 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks this past season. Two Key Returnees Boost Lions' Outlook Up Front Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton played his best game in Penn State's finale against Notre Dame, totaling 2 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS 2025 LOOK AHEAD DEFENSIVE LINE