NEW YORK — Dani Dennis-Sutton walked into the Yankee Stadium media room holding the Pinstripe Bowl trophy. Penn State’s star defensive end placed the hardware on the table in front of Terry Smith, patted his interim head coach on the back and sat down next to him.
A few weeks prior to that moment — prior to Penn State’s win over Clemson and No. 33’s dominant sendoff performance — Dennis-Sutton sat down with Smith in a different setting.
There were no cameras. There were no reporters. There was no trophy. But after a long and arduous season — a season that didn’t go how anyone thought it would — there was a conversation that will stick with Dennis-Sutton, Smith and, now, fans for a long time.
“Dani told me after the Rutgers game (on Nov. 29), ‘Coach, I want to play in this (bowl) game, and I want to be the MVP in it,’” Smith said. Dennis-Sutton wasn’t awarded MVP after the 22-10 win over Clemson. That went to wide receiver Trebor Pena, who had 100 receiving yards, including a 73-yard touchdown. “But Dani is my MVP.”
Why?
“This guy didn’t have to play today,” Smith said. “Guys of his caliber and magnitude, a lot of them walk away and chase the next journey, and that’s OK. … But he chose to come back, and what an outstanding performance.”
An outstanding performance, indeed.
Dennis-Sutton, in his final game in a Penn State uniform, was a menace like he had been throughout his career in Happy Valley. He applied constant pressure. He logged two sacks, ripping down Clemson’s Cade Klubnik. He energized the defense and the sideline. He brought a frigid pro-Penn State crowd to its feet. He made his presence felt.
With two sacks, Dennis-Sutton finished his career with 23.5 total, ranking sixth on the all-time list at Penn State. He passed Matt Millen with his first sack and Abdul Carter with his second.
Dennis-Sutton made a lot of big plays in his Penn State career. Many will think back to the interception in the College Football Playoff semifinal game against Notre Dame.
But of all the game-changing moments he provided — and of all the quarterbacks he terrified over the years — one could argue nothing stands up to what he did Saturday.
Dennis-Sutton balled out in his final Penn State game. That was a statement. But it was a statement for him to even play in the first place.
Smith said the quiet part aloud: a lot of players of Dennis-Sutton’s standing — a future NFL draft pick, and a high-end one at that — don’t suit up for games like the Pinstripe Bowl anymore. Opt-outs have become commonplace, and Penn State was affected by that reality on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions were without key players across the board. Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Zane Durant, Zakee Wheatley, the entire offensive line. Penn State and Clemson, another preseason national title favorite ravaged by opt-outs, were shells of their former selves.
But Dennis-Sutton? He played, and he didn’t think twice about it.
“I made a dedication to this program, to Coach T, Coach (James) Franklin, all those guys that I’m going to play through this whole season,” Dennis-Sutton said. “This program gave me a million opportunities. Playing in a game, this is nothing, man.
“I love football. I love playing football. I love this program. So it was sort of a no-brainer for me. I don’t really comprehend not playing. This is an opportunity for me to go out there with my boys one last time. It was a privilege.”
Dennis-Sutton said he understands that his peers who opted out have “different situations” they’re dealing with, whether it’s injuries or otherwise. He, like Smith, doesn’t blame them.
But even after the hellish season Penn State went through — seeing their title hopes go up in smoke, seeing their head coach fired, enduring a six-game losing streak — Dennis-Sutton wanted to see this thing out. Dennis-Sutton, who quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer called a “glue guy” and a leader through those “hardships,” wanted to finish the season strong.
Everyone in the Yankee Stadium press box kept wondering when Dennis-Sutton would come out of the game. It was thought he might play a series or two, maybe a half, before hanging up his helmet and watching from the sideline. That’s what many have done in the recent past, from the 2023 Peach Bowl to even Saquon Barkley’s stellar first-half in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.
But rain or shine — or in Saturday’s case, sub-freezing temperatures on a baseball field — Dennis-Sutton was determined to not only play, but play until the final snap. And he was determined to leave his mark.
Dennis-Sutton did that. And he should be remembered for it.