Why Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton are ready to help take over the Penn State defense
It would be easy for Penn State to take a step back defensively and brush it off to the losses the team had. After all, there are plenty of them.
There are vocal leaders gone, like safety Ji’Ayir Brown and defensive tackle PJ Mustipher. There’s a likely first round pick gone in cornerback Joey Porter Jr. There are longtime rotational pieces who have moved on, like defensive end Nick Tarburton and linebacker Jonathan Sutherland.
Those pieces will be missing at all three levels of the unit, but there isn’t much thought to the group stepping back. There are high level replacements for many of those players — like Kalen King for Porter — but the expected performance next year is only partially about players like King who have multiple years of experience and will be stepping up.
The other reason is the team’s young talent and the increased impact it could have next season.
Players like sophomores Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton could have a massive impact in 2023 and lead yet another elite Penn State defense.
Those two will be the cornerstones for at least the next two seasons, with Carter at linebacker and Dennis-Sutton at defensive end. Their talents are evident every snap with both possessing the athleticism that pops whenever they’re on the field.
And their teammates took note.
“It feels amazing,” redshirt freshman KJ Winston said about playing with the duo. “Abdul, that’s my roommate, building that connection with him. Just knowing that they’re gonna do what they gotta do to make things a lot easier for you, they’re gonna do their job, it’s a blessing knowing that you’ll be able to go out and play with guys like that every game.”
The beauty of Carter and Dennis-Sutton’s play is their ability to multiply the other. When Carter is blitzing, linemen are forced to account for him, freeing up Dennis-Sutton to attack his man in a one-on-one situation. When Dennis-Sutton is defending against the run, he’s big enough and athletic enough that he can take up multiple blockers, clearing the way for Carter to involve himself and make plays.
Their ability to make great players even better is a big reason why they are both likely to have a major role in the defense’s success this year, and both are aware of just how much they can help the other.
“He’s another one of those guys who just works hard,” Carter said. “You know you can depend on him. You know he has your back. I think he’s gonna be special, too.”
The next step for the duo is going from key contributors on defense to impact players and — maybe more importantly — big-time leaders off the field. Those players that aren’t with the unit anymore made up a group of leaders that Penn State head coach James Franklin glowed about time and time again.
Without them, it’s on the youth to lead the next great defense off the field.
Dennis-Sutton is aware of the void left behind by players like Brown, Mustipher and the rest of the bunch, and wants to help be a part of the solution for the 2023 iteration of the defense alongside some of the remaining veterans.
“Last year we had big leaders,” he said. “... We’ve got a bunch of guys coming up ... Those older guys they take me under their wing and they help me become a leader underneath them. I think leadership is setting an example, and doing it and being consistent with it. I look forward to doing that with the younger guys coming in.”
That’s a positive sign for Penn State. It’s easy for a highly touted player like Dennis-Sutton — who enrolled as a five-star recruit and one of the more sought after defensive ends in the country — to ride the wave and be a part of the team rather than one of the figureheads of it off the field.
Instead he seems ready to take over and be a major voice. It’s one thing for a defense to be as talented as Penn State’s should be this season, but it’s another to put it together. Having leaders like Dennis-Sutton and Carter, who said he’s so hyper focused on this season that he doesn’t even have a favorite moment from the last one, will create the culture of accountability necessary for the team to be elite.
Time will tell how well they adjust to those roles.
But if it’s anything like they did to their on-field roles as freshmen, the defense will be in good hands.
