Penn State defensive tackle Zane Durant is one of, if not the best, in the country at his position, but he’s never satisfied.
Per Pro Football Focus, Durant had 14 tackles for loss/no gain last season, the most amongst any interior DL in the nation.
Durant was also respectable in the pass game, too, finishing with 28 pressures, which put him in the top 25 nationally for defensive linemen.
He could have declared for the Draft and earned himself a big payday, but decided to throw it back for one last ride.
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Penn State can’t afford for Durant to slow down, since the team doesn’t have any proven depth behind him and fellow starter Alonzo Ford Jr.
Here’s what the veteran who was just named one of Penn State’s team captains said about what he can do to be the best at his position.
WHAT DURANT SAID
Zane Durant during pregame warmups at Hard Rock Stadium.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.“I mean, there’s a lot of things that I feel I have to improve on from last year. I’m critical of myself, so I feel there’s a lot of things I have to clean up (to be) the best to ever do it or whatever the case may be. As far as pass rush, I feel I could be more dominant in that aspect, and just being more technical in the run game. Even with all the production that I had, I just want to clean up every little detail so there’s no room for error.”
THE NEXT LEVEL
Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now
Right now, Durant and his teammates are focused on winning a national championship.
But it’s never too early to think about the Draft.
The NFL Mock Draft database has Durant going in the third round.
Andrew Harbaugh of BucaneersWire wrote up a scouting report on Durant this spring, describing him as “another one in a long line of physically disruptive defensive linemen to come down the pipeline for Penn State in recent years.”
“While most of them have come from the edge position, Durant is the first to come from the interior,” wrote Harbaugh. “He is physically dominant with his bull rush ability and it makes him a consistent pass rush presence as a result. His run support is not to be forgotten either, pairing that with his high motor and you have a really fun defensive lineman prospect with traits for days to see develop this fall and beyond.”
Penn State opens the 2025 season against Nevada Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 on CBS.
