Penn State weight room observations: Dani Dennis-Sutton, Jordan van den Berg impress
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Spring break is in sight, but first Penn State’s football’s annual testing week has to be completed.
The end of the seven-week winter training session gives players a chance to see how they’re progressing under strength coach Chuck Losey. And on Thursday evening, the media was on hand for the annual max out day.
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Keep in mind, players test in groups, so this isn’t the entire roster. This group did not include the likes of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, but we did get to see many of the linemen, linebackers and a few new faces. Everybody was squatting.
Here’s what I saw and heard as I navigated Penn State’s new weight room:
5:10 p.m. The doors leading into the weight room read, “You are now entering the most competitive environment in all of college football.” That’s long been the slogan here, but it’s now plastered on the doors. Immediately after entering, the first person I see is … quarterback Drew Allar. The sophomore isn’t part of this testing group, but he is walking around in sneakers and shorts. He chats with teammates and stays for the entire session. Losey said after the lift that Allar has pushed himself to be uncomfortable this offseason by making it a point to talk to and lead teammates. How Allar adapts to that part of the quarterback job is one of the big storylines of the offseason.
5:12 p.m. Defensive lineman Davon Townley Jr. is warming up for his squat max out alongside defensive end Smith Vilbert. Townley has had an interesting offseason. He entered the transfer portal but then withdrew his name. He looks much bigger than when we last saw him prior to the Rose Bowl. He’s listed at 6 feet 6, 267 pounds, and Losey confirms that Townley is moving from end to defensive tackle. Without saying the number, Losey acknowledged that Townley has a body weight goal that he needs to hit in order to play tackle. The staff has been pleased with his progress.
5:16 p.m. It’s nice to be able to move around in here so freely after this event was held last year in the makeshift weight room in Holuba Hall. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz stands high above all of the weight racks in the area that holds the cardio equipment. Offensive line coach Phil Trautwein is walking around down here with his offensive linemen. Running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider is bouncing around. Safeties coach Anthony Poindexter is here too. And so is graduate assistant-turned-analyst Deion Barnes. James Franklin still needs to hire a defensive line coach, and Barnes is here chatting with the defensive ends. Tight ends coach Ty Howle is making the rounds as well.
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5:18 p.m. This is our first look at North Carolina graduate transfer cornerback Storm Duck. He’s warming up with freshman cornerback Lamont Payne Jr. Cornerback Kalen King mentioned this last month and Losey reiterated it — Duck is someone who has blended in really well with his new team. He comes in, goes about his business, and teammates have taken notice.
“He’s been one of the most consistent guys in the program day in and day out,” Losey said. “Been really, really happy with that.”
5:20 p.m. Wide receiver Cristian Driver is wearing a t-shirt that has defensive tackle Kaleb Artis’ name and number on it. This is also a reminder that Driver will have to change his number after wearing 13 as a defensive back last year. Penn State currently has three No. 13s (Driver, Allen and linebacker Tony Rojas). We’ll see what number Driver is assigned once spring ball starts.
5:24 p.m. This place is buzzing. Steve Jones, the team’s radio play-by-play announcer, was just mouthing along to song lyrics with defensive tackle D’von Ellies. And no, I do not recognize the song.
5:27 p.m. The max outs are under way. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs has a crowd around him, and this is another up-close reminder just how massive some of these human beings are. I’m too far back to see, but I do notice that Jacobs is lifting 405 pounds, and he did it at least five times.
5:30 p.m. I’ve repositioned myself and am now looking straight ahead at sophomore defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton. Remember last year when Franklin said Dennis-Sutton just looked different? Well, he’s now screaming and hyping himself up as he gets positioned at the squat rack. There’s some next-level intensity going on here. Veins are bulging in his neck. His tongue is hanging out. There’s even more screaming as he lifts 495 pounds four times. Dennis-Sutton takes a breather after that one, and I think I need one too. I’m exhausted after just watching that.
DE Dani Dennis-Sutton
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) March 2, 2023
5:36 p.m. Last we saw safety Jaylen Reed he had one arm in a sling and was standing on the sideline during the second half of the Rose Bowl. There’s no sling anymore. Reed’s now getting coached up by fellow safety Keaton Ellis. Losey mentioned Ellis as one of the emerging leaders on the team. It’s showing up in this moment as Ellis is telling Reed to breathe as he’s squatting 405 pounds. Reed, with his quads shaking and Ellis yelling for him to get one more, is able to squat the weight eight times.
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5:39 p.m. The video board at the front of the weight room reads “test week = game week.”
5:40 p.m. Freshman offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh is here. He’s listed at 6-5, 320 and has sophomore offensive lineman Drew Shelton (6-5, 296) and junior left tackle Olu Fashanu (6-6, 308) with him. That’s a lot of size. Fashanu isn’t in this testing group, but he’s here, walking around and checking in with teammates. Losey singled out Fashanu as another player who has stepped into a leadership role these last seven weeks.
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5:42 p.m. Wide receivers coach Marques Hagans has presumably popped out of his office and is now standing up above looking down at all of the activity.
5:50 p.m. What does Year 2 have in store for linebacker Abdul Carter? Well, not so long ago he was lifting weights in his parents living room and now he’s got a crowd gathered around him as he maxes out by squatting 455 pounds five times. Losey pointed to Carter and Dennis-Sutton as two players who have “tremendous ceilings” in the area of strength and conditioning.
5:53 p.m. It’s going to be an important spring for Penn State’s defensive tackles, and I now find myself about 2 feet away from Artis, the 6-4, 315-pound redshirt freshman. Remember that distance. If I thought Dennis-Sutton was intense, Artis has taken it up a notch. He’s asking for the strength staff and teammates to slap him on the shoulders. He’s screaming before even getting to the weight rack. He grips the bar and immediately sticks his tongue out. Spit is flying, with yours truly dodging droplets. Dennis-Sutton is behind counting out Artis’ every rep. More spit is incoming as he squats six times. By the seventh, I dodge what’s looking like a direct saliva hit. It’s 455 pounds squatted seven times for Artis. That will go down as one of the most intense max outs I’ve ever seen.
5:59 p.m. As Allar makes his way through the room, it’s another reminder that he no longer looks like he did last winter when he enrolled. The quarterback has gained muscle mass — roughly 20-plus pounds since January 2022. “He looks like a defensive end right now,” Losey said. Freshman quarterback Jaxon Smolik is also walking around with Allar. Beau Pribula is the only quarterback testing with this group.
6:00 p.m. I remember talking with the Iowa Western Community College coaching staff when Jordan van den Berg committed to Penn State. His position coach there described him as a bull in a china shop — that’s a good descriptor for a defensive tackle. I’ve always remembered that. Van den Berg has become a showstopper of sorts at these lifting sessions. A crowd starts to gather, and someone is barking, “That’s a lot of weight!” Indeed. It’s 545 pounds. Artis is hyping him up, and so too is Hakeem Beamon.
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After a couple of more tightenings of his weight belt, it’s go time. After three squats, van den Berg is screaming “God’s got me!” After five, his face is turning the same color as his hair. He maxes out by squatting 545 pounds seven times. Immediately he stands on top of the weight bench and starts screaming. He’s so elated he’s shoving teammates as he charges ahead with some of them backing out of the way. He’s fired up so much so that teammates start fanning him off.
Wait until the end
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) March 2, 2023
6:03 p.m. There’s a beautiful sunset shining through the weight room windows, and van den Berg steps outside to walk around and cool off. Teammates are still coming up to laugh and celebrate with him. The blaring music is cut as Losey starts to gather the team for a breakdown.
6:07 p.m. It appears walk-on running back Tyler Holzworth’s turn was skipped and everyone just realized he still needs to go. His experience will not be cheated and everyone is now watching him. The music is turned back on. Blake Shelton’s “God’s Country” is now reverberating through this place. When the chorus hits, most players seem to know the lyrics. No clue how that one found its way on to the playlist.
6:15 p.m. Losey gathers the group for real this time while I check my math. Based off what I saw, three players in this group squatted 500-plus pounds. Keep in mind this is based off the plates I saw. Those three were defensive end Chop Robinson (five reps at 525 pounds), defensive tackle Zane Durant (at least five reps at 515 pounds) and van den Berg (four reps at 545).
I asked Losey about Robinson, who arrived at Penn State last summer after transferring from Maryland. He called the defensive end “freaky in nature.”
“He’s thrived in our in our system,” Losey said. “His twitch. His suddenness. His ability to change directions the way that he does. He’s phenomenal. He’s been great. I love Chop Robinson.”
These defensive ends certainly do look impressive, and that was reinforced during this workout. Adisa Isaac and Zuriah Fisher were also part of this group. Fisher did seven reps at 445 pounds while Isaac did seven at 455.
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6:20 p.m. Allar and other players start to trickle out of the building. Next up is the final conditioning workout of the winter on Friday and then, finally, spring break. Once players return to campus on March 13, the football field adjacent to the weight room will come back into focus.
(Photo of Dani Dennis-Sutton: Audrey Snyder / The Athletic)
