Tale of the Tape: New Penn State commit Dani Dennis-Sutton

The Penn State Football program landed its highest-ranked recruit since Micah Parsons Thursday in five-star defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton out of McDonogh in Baltimore. According to Rivals, Dennis-Sutton is the top-ranked defensive end in the nation and the 11th overall prospect in the Class of 2022.

While he’s Penn State prized possession in an already stacked defensive line class, he’s also among the most enigmatic players. Dennis-Sutton didn't play football in 2020 because Maryland suspended athletics in the fall. While schools then chose to play in the spring, McDonogh chose not to participate. That means to evaluate his skills, strengths and areas of development, we’ll have to use game film from the 2019 season.

It’s important to keep that in mind as we take a look at his abilities. It's also important to note that Penn State will be playing him at defensive end, although he played the majority of his snaps from a three-technique defensive tackle position.

10 Things to Know: Five-star Dani Dennis-Sutton commits to Penn State

Size & Body Type: Dennis-Sutton is a comically large high school football player and he has been since his freshman year at McDonogh. His 6-5 frame looks bigger than that on film and it’s a surprise he only weighs 253 pounds based on his powerful lower half and impressive body proportions. He’s the ideal build for a strong-side defensive end and there’s no question that he translates well to the next level.

Power: A good bit of Dennis-Sutton's play is based purely on raw power and overwhelming blockers. While that won’t work at all times going forward, he does have the ability to simply win because he’s bigger and stronger than most football players. His frame and growth potential indicate he can continue doing that as he matures.

Hand Usage: I don’t know if I’ve ever watched a player get better on a weekly basis the way Dennis-Sutton did during his sophomore season. You can literally see the light go on over the season in terms of hand usage, pass rushing moves and using his length. His hand usage started out as an area of development but by the end became one of his best assets. When you throw into the mix his performance at a Rivals camp this offseason, it's become a difference-maker for him. It was truly a journey to watch.

Pad Level: Dennis-Sutton’s pad level is the one thing that sticks out most about his play and it’s not even close. The best way to lose the advantage of height and length as a defensive lineman is to stand straight up at the snap. It’s a habit that dates back to his freshman season and while it’s gotten better, it can still improve quite a bit. His reps of utter domination on film are when he fires out low and uses his incredible strength to toss blockers aside. Improving this will also improve his contact balance and unlock more of his core and lower-body strength. As it is now, he can be moved off the spot and redirected as a pass rusher easier than you’d like.

Consistency: The problem with being 6-5, 250 pounds and having dominant reps on tape is that it becomes expected over time. Dennis-Sutton may be a victim of that to a degree, but in general, he isn't as consistent as you'd like to see, or at least, that wasn't the case in 2019. The good news is that much like his hand usage, these plays dissipated over time in 2019. Still, until we see his senior season, his consistency will remain a question mark, as unfair as that might be.

Chase Plays and Finish: Dennis-Sutton is a big guy and he runs like a big guy. He’s not exactly a chase player who can run plays down from the backside line of an offensive formation like a linebacker. While that may not be a primary part of his game, he could likely stand to get better in this area. Working on the previous areas of development such as keeping his pad level down will not only help him disengage from blocks, but will help him turn and run in open space. Finishing plays like this will make him even more of an impact defender.

Strong-side Defensive End: No matter where he plays, Dennis-Sutton’s game will rely quite a bit on power over speed. It will be very interesting to see what type of athlete he has become since we last saw him play at the end of 2019. He's been beyond impressive on the camp scene this summer, dominating offensive lineman, but how that translates to the gridiron is still a bit unclear.

Having such little recent film, but also so much potential, leaves room for a ton of hope and projection, but also a lot of gaps. Throw into the mix that he really only has a handful of plays at his natural position and there are more questions than you’d think for a five-star player.

Despite all of that, his hand usage, college-ready build and development as a pass rusher make him a great prospect as a strong-side defensive end. As long as he can fix his pad level, he’ll be a dominant run defender who can use his hands to get to the quarterback.

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