4-star Maryland DE Dani Dennis-Sutton commits to Penn State football over Alabama, Georgia
Penn State has arguably found their crown jewel of the 2022 recruiting class, earning a pact from McDonogh (Md.) defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton on Thursday.
Dennis-Sutton announced his decision live from his high school. He chose the Nittany Lions over offers from Alabama and Georgia.
“It’s a blessing,” Dennis-Sutton said. “I feel like I deserve it, I’ve worked for it. Nobody really gave me this opportunity. Everyday I was grinding for this opportunity since freshman year where not a lot of people knew who I was as a freshman before then. So, I feel like I deserve it, but I’m blessed and humbled about it as well.”
Dennis-Sutton is rated as a 4-star recruit and the 50th-best player of the 2022 class, per 247Sports. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound defensive end had two sacks, 16 solo tackles, 29 total tackles (10 tackles for a loss) and a fumble recovery in 10 games in 2019. Rivals has Dennis-Sutton rated as a 5-star recruit, the best strong side defensive end and 11th-ranked player nationally in the 2022 class.
The young defensive end didn’t get to see any game action in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite that, he shined at a number of football camps and showcases, dominating one-on-one drills as an edge rusher.
It will only be Dennis-Sutton’s third year of playing organized football.
Dennis-Sutton will join current Penn State players linbeacker Curtis Jacobs, defensive lineman D’von Ellies, offensive lineman Will Knuttson and possibly senior defensive lineman P.J. Mustipher as McDonogh alums on next year’s roster.
“I’m very excited,” Dennis-Sutton said. “I can’t wait to get on the field with Curtis Jacobs at linebacker playing behind me, D’von Ellies and hopefully, P.J. Mustipher is going this year [to the NFL Draft], but if he’s not, I’ll be playing with him too, so that’s great. I’m very excited and glad I fit in at Penn State, so I can play with these guys.”
His coach at McDonogh, Hakeem Sule, has seen him grow from a raw player with a high motor to a player who is technically sound with a strong football I.Q. that Sule believes can become one of the best in the nation.
“They’re getting a player with tremendous effort, pride, pursuit to the football, someone who they can trust, someone who’s going to work hard from Day 1 and someone who’s going to excel just because he has all of the qualities and traits of being a good football player,” Sule told the Centre Daily Times.
The same work ethic is displayed to McDonogh defensive line coach Daniel Yarborough, who has witnessed firsthand what Dennis-Sutton is capable of both as friend and foe. Yarborough served in the same position previously at Calvert Hall, a rival football program in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association, prior to joining McDonogh’s staff in 2020. He also played defensive line at Division II Shepherd University, so he’s aware of what it takes to play the position at the next level.
“It’s unbelievable. Typically, you normally have your super-talented, physical kid and your hard worker next to them,” Yarborough said. “It’s usually not the same person. He’s actually the hardest worker I’ve ever been around when I’ve played collegiate ball and other places, but he’s possibly also the most talented kid that I’ve worked with as well. It’s a wild combination.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 5:12 PM.
