GREEN BAY – There’s a rule posted inside the defensive line meeting room at Penn State, an edict, something every great pass rusher to pass through that program tries to live by.
Dani Dennis-Sutton lost track of how many times he saw the sign hanging on the wall. Before practice, he’d take a glance. Helped him prepare like every day was game day. On Saturdays, he followed the Penn State pass rusher rule better than anyone last season.
“Never lose one-on-ones,” Dennis-Sutton said. “Or you at least never stay blocked. So if you’re getting blocked briefly, running to the ball, effort, effort, effort is all we teach.”
Dennis-Sutton is about to get a lot more one-on-one blocks in the Green Bay Packers defense. And he’ll have an ideal example to show him how to never stay blocked.
It didn’t take long for Dennis-Sutton to hear from the pass rusher who can mentor him as he transitions from third-team all-Big Ten to the NFL. Shortly after the Packers drafted him No. 120 overall in the fourth round, only because general manager Brian Gutekunst said he couldn’t find a trade partner to move into the late third round for him, Dennis-Sutton got an Instagram message from Micah Parsons. It was his phone number. Told him to call.
Penn State’s leading sacker from last season was soon on the phone with maybe the greatest a pass rusher ever to play in that program. Parsons’ new rule for his rookie teammate was simple.
“Just be ready to work,” Dennis-Sutton said, relaying what Parsons told him on the call. “That’s the biggest thing he said. Don’t worry about anything outside of working, man. So I’m here for the team, whatever the team needs me to do, and I’m ready to work. That was really his advice.”
Before last week’s draft, Dennis-Sutton couldn’t have known he was about to join Parsons with the Packers. Gutekunst held his interest in the Penn State pass rusher close to the vest. Throughout the pre-draft buildup, Dennis-Sutton said, he never heard from the Packers.
He instantly recognized what this new NFL home meant. You can’t be a pass rusher at Penn State without knowing Parsons. Dennis-Sutton never shared the field with Parsons in State College, Pennsylvania, arriving on campus when Parsons already was earning All-Pro honors with the Dallas Cowboys. But he got to know Parsons over the years, always whenever one of the NFL’s best would visit his old campus.
Dennis-Sutton continued the lineage of productive Penn State pass rushers during his four years with the Nittany Lions. He had 8.5 sacks as a junior in 2024, sharing the defense with Abdul Carter. When Carter was drafted No. 3 overall by the New York Giants last season, Dennis-Sutton led the defense on his own. His production didn’t dip despite fewer one-on-ones, finishing with another 8.5 sacks.
“His production is really, really good,” Gutekunst said after the draft. “His size, his speed, and I just think he’s got so much in front of him as far as his best football goes. He’s an elite athlete for a guy that’s almost 6-6, played around 265 [pounds]. But his ability to come off the edge and rush the passer, affect the passer. He can bull rush, he can win with speed, his length affects the passer. He can set some edges.
“So I think he’s got a lot to offer and a lot of really good football in front of him.”
It doesn’t mean Dennis-Sutton’s sack production automatically will transfer to the NFL. Parsons had only 6.5 sacks in a pair of college seasons. Then he became the first pass rusher in league history with at least a dozen sacks in each of his first five seasons last year.
But it’s hard to think Dennis-Sutton could have found a more ideal place to start his NFL career. With Parsons returning from a torn ACL, there could be snaps available early as a rookie. If Dennis-Sutton needs time to develop, he’ll have one of the game’s best nearby to learn from.
“I’m a sponge,” Dennis-Sutton said. “So whatever he’s willing to give, I’m going to sort of make it my own way. But I’m a sponge. So I’ll try to learn.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Dani Dennis-Sutton to be ‘sponge’ around Packers teammate Micah Parsons
Reporting by Ryan Wood, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
