Five-star DE Dani Dennis-Sutton set on Penn State arrival
Penn State football will welcome another important piece of the Class of 2022 in the coming weeks. On3 Consensus five-star defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton is set to arrive on campus the weekend of June 11.
Following up on a Tweet from Dennis-Sutton earlier this week, Blue-White Illustrated has confirmed that following a June 10 commencement at McDonogh School, he will make his way to Penn State’s University Park campus. In doing so, he’ll get two full weeks of acclimation and workouts before the start of the second summer session.
The timeline maximizes Dennis-Sutton’s transition from high school and is ahead of schedule thanks to the NCAA summer access period.
A rule introduced ahead of the 2014 football season, FBS programs were provided increased summer interaction with players for eight weeks. Within those weeks, programs can implement up to eight hours of mandatory weight training, and up to two hours of film study.
For Penn State football, that eight-week period begins on June 6.
Dani Dennis-Sutton’s path to Penn State
The arrival will finally bring to Penn State’s campus a player the coaching staff has been highly anticipating for months. Really, since his commitment to the Nittany Lions last summer.
Having worked to include the coveted defensive end through the spring in the implementation of Manny Diaz’s new defense, Penn State is eager to explore his potential with the program.
“You look at his film and also his measurables, and he’s a guy that you sit here and say you could pencil him in as a guy that’s going to have an opportunity to compete, even though he is not coming in mid-semester,” head coach James Franklin said in December. “He is 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, physical against the run. He can rush the passer. So he’s not like an undersized defensive end that you’re going to have to develop over time.”
Though McDonogh School doesn’t allow for early graduations and enrollment, that could make Dennis-Sutton’s extra two weeks on campus that much more important.
At a position group that frequently produces immediate contributors as true freshmen, from a historical perspective, Dennis-Sutton’s place among the best defensive ends in the Class of 2022 furthers that possibility this season.
Throw in Penn State’s need at the position, having to replace two NFL Draft selections in Arnold Ebiketie and Jesse Luketa from the 2021 season, and the opportunity is clear.
“He’s got the ability to come in and compete from day one. And, I think that’s going to be his mentality and approach,” Franklin said. “He’s also a very mature young man. You go to that high school, everybody is raving about him.”
Next steps for Dani Dennis-Sutton
Likewise, Dennis-Sutton feels much the same way.
Having selected Penn State over two of the major powers in college football, Alabama and Georgia, Dennis-Sutton’s commitment to the program and excitement to join it has been steady.
“I genuinely love Penn State,” Dennis-Sutton said last summer. “It’s not just about Coach Franklin and all the coaches there, who I also love.
“For me, I love the atmosphere, the community, the people. I love it all and that’s what’s important to me. That’s why I came to Penn State.”
The weekend of June 11, Dennis-Sutton will see that love actualized when he arrives to begin his Penn State career.
