Oh, Hello: Top 50 2022 DE Dani Dennis-Sutton Commits to Penn State – Black Shoe Diaries

THE SKINNY

Height/Weight: 6-foot-5, 250 pounds
Hometown/High School: Owings Mills, MD (McDonogh School)
Ranking: ★★★★ (0.9783 247Sports Composite — No. 50 overall)
Notable Offers: Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M

HIGHLIGHTS

THE TALE

Penn State offered Dennis-Sutton back in May 2019, when the now 6-foot-5, 250-pound prospect was coming off his freshman season. The Nittany Lions were Dennis-Sutton’s first reported offer according to 247Sports, and one would think the relationship Penn State has with Dennis-Sutton’s school — McDonogh — was a big reason for that. Current Penn State players like PJ Mustipher, D’Von Ellies, and Curtis Jacobs all came from McDonogh, so the Nittany Lions getting a leg up with the next great prospect from the school isn’t too surprising.

During his sophomore year of high school, Dennis-Sutton was able to make a gameday visit to Happy Valley for the 2019 “White Out” Michigan game, and ever since that time, the Nittany Lions only strengthened their lead. While official visits to Alabama and Georgia tightened things late, in the end, Penn State closed things with Dennis-Sutton, securing his commitment before his senior season.

OUTLOOK

After a 2021 class that was largely filled with some puzzling misses, Penn State is really back on track with the 2022 recruiting class. We’ll save that discussion for another article that will be posted here shortly, but credit to James Franklin and his staff for the turnaround. Yes, the whole “prospects are able to visit again” thing helps mightily, but going from the struggle-fest that was last recruiting class to being on the precipice of locking in a Top 10 class — great job by the staff.

As for Dennis-Sutton, he didn’t have a junior season, but he pops as a sophomore, which is impressive for a kid like him who was likely still growing into his frame. Quick first steps, suddenness, and overall body coordination tend to come along later for jumbo athletes, so the fact that Dennis-Sutton was flashing some of these qualities as a 15-year-old is super promising for what he’ll look like in the future. He’s absolutely someone who with a strong senior season and performances at the all-star events (All-American Bowl and the Polynesian Bowl) that could earn his way into five-star status.