All 105 is a Nittany Sports Now series profiling each Penn State football player. This edition will look at true freshman defensive tackle Zane Durant.
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 280 pounds
Hometown: Lake Nona, Florida
Before Penn State: Durant played football in all four years at Lake Nona High School and was a two-time team captain. Durant finished his senior season with 66 tackles, a school-record 15 sacks, 28 tackles for loss and 38 quarterback hurries. Durant also set Lake Nona’s records for career sacks and tackles and has the school’s shot-put record and placed eighth in the state as a junior. 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN all had Durant as a four-star recruit. He committed to Penn State on the Fourth of July in 2021, choosing coach James Franklin’s program over Auburn, Indiana and Miami, among others.
2022: Durant played in all 13 games, ending the season with five tackles and one sack, which took place against Maryland Nov. 12.
Where he stands: Penn State’s lost senior leader PJ Mustipher at defensive tackle but returns veterans Hakeem Beamon, Dvon Ellies and Coziab Izzard and added transfer Alonzo Ford form Old Dominion. With the loss of Mustipher, an emotional leader who anchored the DL, people will have to step up, and Durant is a solid candidate to be one of those players.
A quote by Durant: “I came in with the idea of playing. Everybody comes in wanting to play. But when I was thrown into the fire, it wasn’t a surprise to me because I was working for it. I was ready for the opportunity.” — Durant to reporters at Penn State second-year player media availability in February.
A quote about Durant: “I think you’ll see a big jump from his freshman year… being more of a guy with a significant role.” — Coach James Franklin on Durant after a practice this spring.
