Buzz builds for Penn State defensive tackle Zane Durant ahead of second season
The Penn State football program felt confident it was getting a budding star along the defensive line when it signed Zane Durant in the Class of 2022. The former four-star recruit from Orlando, Fla., was one of the top prospects in the Sunshine State and had a decorated high school career at Lake Nona.
Few can predict how quickly success at the prep level will transfer to the college ranks, however. But, for Durant, it started almost immediately. The defensive tackle enrolled early and received praise shortly after spring practice began.
“If he keeps trending the way he is right now, I think he’s going to have the chance to compete for playing time as a true freshman at D-tackle, which is unusual,” Penn State coach James Franklin said last March.
Durant continued to trend the way his head coach envisioned he could. He burned his redshirt in year one by netting five tackles and a sack over 174 snaps. What’s more, his play was more productive than his stat sheet suggests. Expect those to even up, however, in 2023.
Buzz builds for Zane Durant ahead of second Penn State season
Durant is turning heads during the Lions’ March and April drills for the second consecutive spring. He is now 276 pounds but looks more defined than he did a year ago. Teammates and coaches alike are buzzing about his potential.
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“I think Zane Duant is on a really good trajectory,” Franklin said this week. “I think you’ll see a big jump from his freshman year, [after] kind of getting some reps, and now being more of a guy with a significant role and has put really good weight on.
“When you look at him, he doesn’t necessarily look like a lot has been put on. But, he’s put on really good weight and is still lean and explosive and athletic. He kind of fits what we’re looking for.”
Penn State will need the second-year defensive tackle ready to go out of the gate. The position is one of the key question marks the Lions have entering the season. Plenty of talent exists, but PJ Mustipher leaves big shoes to fill, which is exactly what Durant, and his teammates, aim to do.
“Zane’s been growing a lot, and dramatically too,” defensive tackle D’Von Ellies said. “He’s a younger guy he had. He had a pretty big role last season. And, I think he stepped into it well. He learned quick, he’s developing quick, and I’m just loving to see it.”
