Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton (33) tackles Nevada quarterback Chubba Purdy (13) during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

It was telling just how good Dani Dennis-Sutton was last weekend that James Franklin mentioned Dennis-Sutton in the same sentence as Micah Parsons.

Dennis-Sutton had two forced fumbles against Nevada, the first Nittany Lion to do that since Parsons in 2019.

You know, that Micah Parsons. The guy that just signed the richest contract in NFL history for non-quarterbacks.

Dennis-Sutton seemingly lived in the backfield on Saturday, harassing Nevada QB Chubba Purdy or any other poor running back that dared to try to break a run in his direction. He finished with five tackles, 2½ for a loss, the two forced fumbles, a sack, a pass breakup and another hit on the quarterback.

Just another day at the office for a guy who played like his hair was on fire during the College Football Playoff run last season.

“His motor is always on 100 from the snap to the whistle,” Franklin said. “He plays his tail off. And usually when you play hard, good things happen.

“He is hungry, he is motivated, he is driven. He wants to be great. A lot of guys say they want to be great. This guy eats, sleeps and dreams football and wants to be special. He’s been that way since we recruited him.”

Dennis-Sutton must be getting the attention of NFL scouts, too. He’s projected to be a first-round pick in the NFL by many outlets in 2026.

He still has a long list of accomplishments he’d like to have by the end of the season.

The obvious one is that elusive championship that seems to be within reach right now.

It’s the same reason why guys like Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Drew Allar and Zane Durant came back to Penn State.

Dennis-Sutton also admits he sometimes thinks about the career sack record at Penn State.

“I’m trying to leave a legacy,” Dennis-Sutton said. “I try not to get too involved in the stats.

Sometimes you can have a great game and not have any stats.”

In order to get the career record, he would need 18.5 sacks for the year to break Courtney Brown’s mark set from 1996-99. That would also break the Nittany Lion single-season record, set by Carl Nassib in 2015 with 15.5 sacks.

“I made a promise to myself in high school that by the time I left college, I’d be the best defensive end in the country,” Dennis-Sutton said.

And just maybe someday, if he puts his signature in the Nittany Lions’ record books, he may also get to sign a paycheck as big as Parsons did recently.

Andy Stine can be reached at astine@altoonamirror.com.