SirVocea Dennis

Early life

Dennis was born on March 9, 2000, in Syracuse, New York. He is the son of SirVantis Dennis and Corliss Dennis. He attended and played high school football at Christian Brothers Academy. He played both quarterback and defensive back, leading the team to two Section III championships. He also played basketball and lacrosse. However, as a senior he suffered a torn Achilles tendon and, as that put doubt on his college football career, Dennis decided to play a postgraduate year at the Peddie School. At Peddie, he was named the Mid-Atlantic Prep League Defensive Player of the Year. He was only a two-star college recruit, and after initially committing to Air Force switched to Pittsburgh, the only Power Five team to make an offer.

College career

Dennis joined Pittsburgh as a linebacker. As a freshman in 2019, he appeared in eight games as a special teams player. He saw more defensive action in 2020, appearing in 10 games, two as a starter, and posted a team-leading 14.5 tackles-for-loss, a total that placed top ten nationally, as well as 57 tackles and four sacks, on his way to being named third-team all-conference. In 2021, he started 13 games and led the team with 87 total tackles as well as 9.5 tackles-for-loss, four sacks, one blocked field goal, an interception and a fumble recovery, being named second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference.

Dennis became a team captain as a senior in 2022 and started 12 games, recording 94 tackles, a team-best, as well as nine sacks, 12 tackles-for-loss and two forced fumbles. He was a first-team all-conference selection and was named third-team All-American by Pro Football Focus. After the regular season, Dennis declared for the NFL draft and skipped Pittsburgh's bowl game, finishing his college career with 233 tackles, 36.0 tackles-for-loss, 15.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and two interceptions.