Before he was a standout linebacker within Pat Narduzzi's defense, SirVocea Dennis was a star quarterback and defensive back at Christian Brothers Academy, located just four miles East of the Syracuse University campus.
As the story goes, Dennis was an underrated two-star recruit who held offers from mid-level teams, such as Western Michigan, Massachusetts, and Air Force. He originally committed to Air Force, flipped just before the second national signing day, and committed to Pitt after one of the more unique recruiting visit stories out there:
Good story from SirVocea Dennis & Pat Narduzzi. Pat was recruiting 2 of his teammates but AD convinced him to meet with Dennis, too. Pat asked a few Qs including "Can you dunk?"
β π«π °οΈβοΈπ (@ADavidHaleJoint) July 22, 2022
"Yeah, I've got a few videos on my phone," SirVocea says.
Here's what got him an offer: pic.twitter.com/VUPKDihE43
And, here we are.
Dennis said he was recruited by Syracuse as a quarterback; not as a defensive player, which is what Dennis was interested in. He always had his heart on that side of the ball, and Narduzzi has been able to tap into that over Dennis' four seasons as a Panther.
The senior Dennis will once again suit up against the Orange, when his hometown and childhood team visits Acrisure Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.
"I love Syracuse week," Dennis said. "And it's not even about the game, really, it's about my family coming to the game no matter the location. And it's just everybody getting the chance to see me play against the hometown team."
Dennis was a baller in high school, where under coach Casey Brown he thrived on each side of the ball. He led CBA to a state semifinal appearance -- coincidentally played in SU's Carrier Dome -- his junior year.
"Coach Brown, he made it very -- he made me understand that this game is more than just a game," Dennis said. "It's really about being a young adult and being yourself, coming into yourself and doing everything you want to do with the abilities that you have in football.
"A quote he always used was: 'Use football; don't let football use you.' So from that moment I always did that."
(He said if he didn't attend CBA, he would have went to Cicero-North Syracuse High School, otherwise known as the alma mater of Olympic gold medalist and all-world women's basketball player Breanna Stewart, ESPN play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins, current MLB starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, and former NFL players Tyvon Branch, Curtis Johnson, J.R. Johnson, and Maury Youmans.)
Dennis said his mother was a larger Orange football fan than he was, but Dennis did mention that he grew up admiring Big East football above all.
"Just growing up in that era and age, it was just, you're a Big East fan, really," Dennis said. "So you just love those rivalry games, you love those -- everything about it. I wouldn't say I was the biggest Syracuse fan growing up. I know my mother was, so, you know, I always went to the games with her. We always had fun there. Just seeing the atmosphere and being at those games was always fun."
In two games against the Orange, he has totaled nine tackles -- five solo -- and he recovered a fumble in the 2021 game at Syracuse. He did not travel for the 2019 road game as a freshman.
The 2022 edition comes as Dennis operates through a career season for Pitt. He leads the team in total tackles (58; 11th in the ACC) and sacks (5.0; tied for fourth in the ACC), while tying with All-American candidate Calijah Kancey for the team lead in tackles for loss (8.5; tied for seventh in the ACC).
The season he has had is parallel to the level of expectation set prior to the start of the season. He was voted by a captain by his teammates, and this came after three veteran presences in the room -- John Petrishen, Phil Campbell III, and Cam Bright -- graduating or transferring.
"He's definitely a leader in our defense," two-time team captain Deslin Alexandre said. "He's our 'Mike.' He makes all the calls; everything goes through him. Voss has had tremendous growth with us. Doing a very good job leading, out there making plays. He's an all-around great player.
"Voss is pretty loose, but Voss is also -- he's very smart. Actually knowing football, knowing what's coming, and being able to take some risk and knowing what the offense is going to do before they do it, before the ball snaps. He's a very talented player in that way, also."
Dennis has been the nucleus of the Panthers' defense, and has now earned proper recognition for it. He was nominated as a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, which is given annually to the nation's top linebacker.
Butkus Award π Semifinalist
β Pitt Football (@Pitt_FB) November 1, 2022
Nation's Best Linebacker β¨
SirVocea Dennis Β» @Sirvocea
58 TKL, 8.5 TFL, 5.0 Sacks π#H2P Β» @thedickbutkus pic.twitter.com/4jjB2U6BSO
"It's big," he said of the honor, "in the sense of, this is my fourth year here, so fifth year playing linebacker. It's huge. I'm not the biggest linebacker, I'm not the strongest, fastest, but it's what I bring to the game, and I'm glad that someone recognizes that on a national level."
