One of Penn State football’s best players is coming back for 2025.
Saturday morning, a defensive lineman by the name of Zane Durant announced via X (formerly Twitter) that he’s returning to Penn State for the 2025 season, which will be his last year of eligibility.
https://Twitter.com/darealbabyzane/status/1878102438365843751?s=46
This is a big deal, both literally and figuratively.
It’s literally a big deal because Durant is a big man, at 6-foot-1 and 288 pounds. It’s figuratively a big deal because, with possible exception of Abdul Carter, there’s a case to be made that no Penn State defender was better than Durant in 2024.
Durant wasn’t named to either the Big Ten’s first or second-teams. That confused people because Durant has become arguably one of the best defensive tackles in college football. He more than doubled his tackles from last season, going from 17 to 42, and even playing on the interior, had 28 pressures per Pro Football Focus, which is third on the team. He also had 11 tackles for loss.
Durant was named to third-team All Big-Ten. Many felt that wasn’t enough.
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Ahead of Penn State’s Fiesta Bowl/College Football Playoff quarterfinal win over Boise State New Year’s Eve night, Boise OC Dirk Koetter gave perhaps the most telling quote about Durant from an opposing coach.
“Man, I would like to be that guy’s agent,” Koetter told reporters. “He’s got a crazy combination of quickness and power, and I think that guy is very disruptive on the inside.”
‘I Would Like to be That Guy’s Agent’: Boise State OC Impressed by Penn State DL
WHAT THIS MEANS
Penn State is losing some depth at defensive tackle, with Dvon J-Thomas and Coziah Izzard each out of eligibility. With the defensive line losing Carter to the Draft and potentially Dani Dennis-Sutton for the same reason, Durant’s role on the front could be even bigger in 2025 than it was this season.
Penn State opens its 2025 season against Nevada Aug. 30 at Beaver Stadium.
