Who did Jim Knowles pick as his Penn State defender of the day for the Nevada game?

Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has long been picking his defender of the day after practices and games. Now that his first contest with the Nittany Lions is in the books, the play caller has his initial selection for who stood out. And, the pick will hardly be a surprise. Knowles went with senior defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton as his defender of the day for the Nevada game.

A Maryland native, ‘DDS’ was terrific against the Wolf Pack. He forced two fumbles and racked up five tackles (2.5 for loss) while also netting a sack. Perhaps most impressively, he did all of that over just 25 snaps as Penn State wisely went with backups for much of the fourth quarter. It was a strong showing for a player who believes he is the best pass rusher in the country but prefers showing you over telling you.

“I think every defensive player knows good things happen when you run to the ball, so just trying to run to the ball, do it in practice, and then the game, and it just becomes a habit,” Dennis-Sutton said Saturday. “All I can do is go out there and give my all every single play and run to the ball, and then obviously, great things happen, pushing the ball out, things like that. So yeah, Coach Franklin preaches it. I’m trying to live by it.”

More: T-Frank’s Film Room: What we learned about the Penn State defense in dominant win over Nevada

Added Penn State coach James Franklin:

“He’s a well-rounded defensive end. And there’s some guys across the country that are great pass rushers. There’s some guys that are good against the run. He could do both. He’s a unique guy. He’s going to have a big time year. I think the thing that separates him is the thing that all of them can do, but very few do, is his motor is always 100 from the snap to the whistle; he plays his tail off. And usually when you play hard, good things happen. You keep running to the ball, and you’re going to end up making a play, either a tackle for a loss, sack, a play down the field, where you put it on tape and impress everybody, or the ball comes out and you’re running, you’re able to recover it. When you play with that type of effort, good things happen. And he is hungry, he is motivated, he is driven. He wants to be great.

“A lot of guys say they want to be great. This guy eats, sleeps and dreams, you know, football, and wants to be special. And he’s been that way since we recruited him, and since he’s been on campus, he just continues to get better. I think that the 10 pounds that he’s lost, I think, is helpful for him. I think it’s going to contribute to him having a big time year for us.”

Penn State returns to the field on Saturday when it welcomes FIU to Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is at Noon ET. Big Ten Network will televise the game.