Penn State wins major recruiting battle for Dani Dennis-Sutton

Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh School Top247 defensive lineman Dani Dennis Sutton announced his commitment to Penn State Thursday afternoon live on CBS Sports HQ. The blue-chipper’s commitment adds to a Nittany Lions class ranked # 2 by the 247Sports Composite.

Besides Penn State, Dennis-Sutton also highly regarded Alabama and Georgia and made official visits in June to all three programs. He said it comes down to the Nittany Lions and Bulldogs, and after a few back and forths he settled into the Big Ten program.

One of the biggest deciding factors was Penn State’s track record with guys like Yetur Gross-Matos and Jayson Oweh.

“I have confidence in their process and I think they can make me the player I want,” Dennis-Sutton told 247Sports. “I like the atmosphere and the people there.

The 247Sports Composite ranks Dennis-Sutton as the nation’s No. 9 defensive lineman and No. 50 prospect overall. He is the No.1 Global Prospect in Maryland and becomes the No.21 Commitment for head coach James Franklin and his staff in the 2022 cycle.

“Everyone on the team is willing to work to be awesome, so I just wanted to surround myself with greatness,” said Dennis-Sutton.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Dennis-Sutton is the third Top100 prospect to sign at Penn State alongside running back Nicholas Singleton and wide receiver Kaden Saunders. He’s the boat’s 12th four-star and is already working hard to add guys like fellow defensive lineman Alex VanSumeren.

“Great players in the class and I can’t wait to work with them,” said Dennis-Sutton.

After his final year, Dennis-Sutton will end his preparation career playing the All American Bowl and Polynesian All American Bowl. 247Sports national analyst Brian Dohn loves the potential.

“Great frame and construction for a solid defensive end,” Dohn wrote in his assessment. “Shrewd, intelligent character. At length and more athleticism. Bends well and has flexibility, including at the ankles to plunge the shoulder and go around the edge. Goes fast with an explosive first step around the edge and shows top speed over the first 10 yards. Body control is a plus. Don’t spend a lot of time on the ground. Active hands make it difficult for the offensive lineman to land the initial punch. Able to play low despite size and win battles with leverage. Instinctive player. Has the force to disengage quickly. Rises well on the ground and shows closing speed. Excellent body control allows torso manipulation to squeeze into spaces. Shows an ability to redirect down the line of scrimmage. At the speed to impact the game at the back. Athletics exists to fall within zone coverage in special packages. Uses the tear motion well and also has a swim. Must continue to refine technique with combinations of movements and be comfortable with different movements. Elite level Impact player.

The official visit to Happy Valley in mid-June made Dennis-Sutton feel at home.

“It was really nice,” he said noted. “You hear people say the family atmosphere all the time and you can certainly feel it, and it’s isolated, it’s in the valley. You have a lot of time to focus on your job and not a lot of distractions and obviously I have to see my old teammates, Curtis Jacobs, D’Von Ellies and PJ Mustipher. It was nice to see these guys and hang out with them and see what it would be like to be here. They’re on different levels with PJ starting, Curtis about to start, and D’Von coming, and they each gave me different perspectives and kept it real and I think they like it here. They could have gone anywhere in the country, but from what I’ve heard, they love it here.