All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. This edition will look at true freshman defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton.
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 254 pounds
Hometown: Millsboro, Delaware
Before Penn State: Dennis-Sutton will have a lot of eyes on him as his first college game nears, and its because of what he accomplished at Owings Mills, Maryland’s McDonough School.
Dennis-Sutton played all four years and twice became a team captain. As a sophomore, he helped McDonough to an 11-1 record and runner-up finish in the Maryland A Conference.
He then went through adversity during his upperclassmen years. Dennis-Sutton’s junior season never happened due to COVID-19, and he missed part of his senior year due to injury.
Nonetheless, he played well enough as a senior to be selected to the 2022 All-American Bowl.
247Sports, On3 and Rivals all had Dennis-Sutton as the No. 1 Class of 2022 player in Maryland, and Rivals had him as the No. 1 strong side defensive end and No. 11 overall player in the country.
At the time he committed to Penn State in July of 2021, Rivals had him as a five-star recruit while the other three gave him four stars.
Eventually, Dennis-Sutton got that fifth star from 247 and On.3.
Where he stands: Dennis-Sutton has the potential to get some significant playing time as a true freshman.
But new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz doesn’t have to bank on him to have a big first year, and least not yet.
With Adisa Isaac back from injury, 2021 blue chip Chop Robinson transferred in from the University of Maryland and Nick Tarburton a steady veteran presence at defensive end, Penn State is has a combination of experience and potential on the edges.
If other players perform to their capabilities, Dennis-Sutton won’t have to be much more than an immensely depth piece for Penn State in year one.
Dennis Sutton also wasn’t with Penn State for spring practice, so he came to campus this summer without the benefits that others in his class had by coming to campus early.
A quote about Dennis-Sutton: “He’s just so much more physically prepared than most guys,” coach James Franklin said earlier this summer. “He benches 400 pounds, is 255 pounds, physical. He wasn’t able to be here in the spring, and he wasn’t able to get here early in the summer as well. So he’s playing a little catch-up right now.
“But there’s excitement for him.”
