Zane Durant – Syndication Server

Penn State defense leads the way in 41-13 win at Northwestern

Penn State’s defense leads the way as Nittany Lions improve to 5-0 with 41-13 win at Northwestern.

Penn State improved to 5-0 on the year and 3-0 in Big Ten play with a road win at Northwestern that was, as they say, closer than the experts expected. Penn State overcame a solid fight from Northwestern on Saturday afternoon in Evanston and returned home with a 41-13 win fueled by another strong defensive showing.

Penn State’s defense turned in another fine outing for the Nittany Lions. It was the defense that bailed Penn State out right from the start of the game. After [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] fumbled the opening kickoff away to the Wildcats, the defense came on the field, drive the Northwestern offense a couple of yards, and forced the home team to settle for a field goal. While it was the first deficit of the season for Penn State, the defense answered the call.

Northwestern quarterback Ben Bryant was knocked out of the game following a sack by [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag] on a third down deep in Penn State territory in the fourth quarter. The sack by Durant knocked Northwestern out of position to consider going for a touchdown and forced the Wildcats to settle for a field goal. But any threat of a comeback by Northwestern for a second week in a row may have been put to rest with the loss of Bryant for the remainder of the game.

Penn State’s defense racked up a total of 7 sacks for a loss of 47 yards for the Northwestern offense.

[autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] had a tough outing, similar to his last road test at Illinois two weeks ago. Allar did not turn the football over and he did pass for 152 yards and a touchdown, but the passing game was out of sync for the majority of the afternoon. Singleton led the team with 5 receptions and [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] had 3 catches despite being targeted 7 times by Allar.

Penn State also dealt with some injury concerns during the game. [autotag]Kaytron Allen[/autotag] left the game in the first half and did not return to the field. [autotag]Trey Potts[/autotag], who scored a game-tying touchdown in the second quarter stepped up to help the running game alongside Singleton.

Penn State will get next week off before returning to action in Week 7. Penn State will host UMass at that time for the final non-conference game of the year in the regular season. A massive road trip to Ohio State is on deck after the home game with the Minutemen.

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6 Penn State players make Bruce Feldman’s “Freak List”

Bruce Feldman included a number of Penn State players on his annual college football freaks list

The athl;eticism on the Penn State roster is well recognized by those who pay close attention. And few pay closer attention to the freakish athletic nature of college football’s finest like Bruce Feldman of The Athletic. Feldman’s “Freak List” has developed a cult following of those who are big college football fans. For those unaware, Feldman has been creating this list for around 20 years that highlights the best athletes around college football.

Hence, the term “freak.”

Feldman started with 10 players he talked about every year, but the popularity has driven him to cover more players. Coaches, teammates, parents, scouts and agents will contact him to let him know about someone who he should look at for the list.

This year, Feldman’s “Freak List” has 101 names on it with six players from Penn State getting highlighted for their athleticism. Here is where they are ranked on his list. You can view the full list of Feldman’s college football freaks for 2023 via The Athletic.

2023 Penn State football snapshot profile: No. 28 Zane Durant

Zane Durant will be a player on the rise for the Penn State defensive line in 2023.

Going into the 2023 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster. Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

We turn our attention now to one of Penn State’s rising defensive tackles, [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag]. The second-year player showed why the coaching staff loved him so much in the recruiting process with some solid play in his time on the field last season, and he should continue to improve this fall to give Penn State another valuable asset in the trenches for the defensive line to rely on.

Here is a snapshot look at Zane Durant going into the 2023 season.

Penn State defense shines in Blue-White Game

Penn State’s Blue-White Game is led by the defense and a potential contributing receiver shines.

For all of the attention that Penn State’s big playmakers on offense get, the defense was the real winner of the Blue-White Game on Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium. Penn State’s 15th and final practice of the spring saw plenty of good pressure up front by Penn State’s defensive line and terrific coverage for much of the game from the pass defense, making life difficult for Penn State’s young quarterback combo of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] and [autotag]Beau Pribula[/autotag].

Penn State’s edge rushers, specifically [autotag]Chop Robinson[/autotag] and [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag], were impressive and the entire defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage for the bulk of the afternoon. Penn State’s offensive line may have some concerns as a result, although it was without one of its biggest players in Olu Fashanu. But it seemed as though the quarterbacks, who were playing for both teams in the spring game, were under constant pressure every time out, especially against the Blue team, which was comprised of mostly projected first-stringers.

While it was a quiet day for the offense, there was one player who seemed to make the most of the afternoon. Wide receiver [autotag]Omari Evans[/autotag] was the one receiver who seemed to find open spots on the field on a day when doing so seemed to prove difficult. Allar connected with Evans a few times, and Beau Pribula connected with him as well. With competition for a significant role in the receiving department as Penn State looks to find replacements for Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley, Evans came away as a spring game-winner.

Evans caught the only touchdown scored in the game, doing so on the second offensive possession led by Drew Allar in the first quarter.

Of course, the spring game is just one part of the offseason process that will ultimately lead to determining what happens in the fall. Head coach James Franklin got some good film to evaluate moving on after spring practices as decisions will have to be made about the roster. While a strong showing in a spring game can sometimes be the weight to tip a scale one way or another, it isn’t necessarily the final straw in any decisions by the coaching staff.

The good news for the Penn State offense is it won’t be facing too many defenses as the one it faced on Saturday once the 2023 season kicks off. There is some work to do, naturally, but there is time to fine-tune what is needed before the season begins.

Penn State will open the 2023 season at home against West Virginia on September 2. It should shape up to be a fun season for the Nittany Lions.

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Zane Durant receives praise from James Franklin

James Franklin really likes how this young defensive player is attacking this spring

Penn State is sending quite a bit of talent to the NFL in 2023 which means that young players will be stepping into big roles for the new season. With spring ball fully underway, coach [autotag]James Franklin[/autotag] is looking for players to step up.

On the defensive side of things, Franklin has already identified his first rising star.

On Tuesday, Franklin met with the media and spoke about an array of topics one of which was who was impressing him early in Spring camp. Franklin told media in attendance that [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag] has looked good early as well as added weight to his frame to better man the middle of the defensive line. He added, “I think you’ll see a big jump from his freshman year… being more of a guy with a significant role.”

Durant was one of several freshman players to make an impact on a Nittany Lions defense led by [autotag]Manny Diaz[/autotag] that utilized freshman players. Highlighted by [autotag]Abdul Carter[/autotag], Durant appeared in 13 games and secured one sack in the process. With the departure of P.J. Mustipher, Durant is poised for a starting role in 2023.

As for the weight mentioned by Franklin, Durant is listed on the Penn State website at 274 pounds. If he is to play a role similar to Mustipher, he will need to get much closer to 300 pounds to handle bigger Big Ten interior offensive linemen.

Durant should be up for the task regardless as he has already shown massive improvements since he stepped foot on campus last year. He came to the program as just a 3-star recruit and is on his way to earning a starting role in a little over a year.

High expectations for Penn State in 2023 and Durant.

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Best photos from Penn State’s shutout of Maryland in Week 11

Check out these photos from Penn State’s shutout of Maryland in Week 11.

It started off as a beautiful day for some Big Ten football in Happy Valley on Saturday, but the rains moved in as Penn State was in the process of blanking Maryland to improve to 8-2 on the year. But no matter what the weather turned into, it was a nice day for Penn State football as the Nittany Lions were dominant on defense from start to finish.

Here are some of the best photos from Penn State’s 30-0 victory over Maryland, the next-to-final home game for the Nittany Lions this season.

Penn State snapshot profile: No. 28 Zane Durant

Penn State freshman Zane Durant is a defensive line star in the making, but how does he fit into the picture in 2022? Snapshot profile of Durant.

Going into the 2022 football season, Nittany Lions Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Penn State roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for James Franklin this season.

Penn State is welcoming a stellar Class of 2022 haul to the program this year, and a handful of key players from the recruiting class got a chance to enroll early and get started with the program in the spring. Among them was defensive lineman [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag], who emerged as one of the most impressive rookies for the Nittany Lions. But how does he fit into the 2022 picture for the fall?

Here’s a snapshot look at one of Penn State’s future defensive stars in the making.

Which freshmen matter the most for Penn State in 2022?

What two freshmen matter the most for Penn State football in 2022? 247Sports offers an opinion.

Penn State pulled together quite an incredible recruiting class for the Class of 2022, ranking among the best in the nation. And naturally, some members of the latest recruiting haul figure to step into some meaningful roles as early as this upcoming season. 247Sports highlighted a list of 100 true freshmen across the country they deemed to “matter” the most for their respective programs this fall, and a pair of Penn State players made the cut.

Running back [autotag]Nick Singleton[/autotag] and defensive tackle [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag] were among the top freshmen that matter the most in 2022 according to 247Sports, and it is easy to see why that would be the case.

Singleton was the top running back in the Class of 2022 and he enrolled early to get started with the offense this past spring. Penn State had some mighty struggles on the ground last season and the hope is Singleton is ready to carry the load for the Nittany Lions quickly.

Here is what 247Sports had to say about Singleton;

The No. 1 back in the Top247 is as ready-to-contribute as they come. He’s got a college-ready frame (6-foot, 210 pounds) with legitimate track speed, above-average athleticism and proven production (12.4 ypc as a HS senior). Singleton might be starting by midseason.

The spring also saw Durant get started on the defensive line, which paid off well. Durant was among the most impressive players this spring and he is already making a case for some playing time in the fall for the defensive line.

Here is what 247Sports had to say about Durant;

It’s pretty unusual for a young defensive linemen to play for Penn State, a program with a usually rigid developmental track for young linemen. But Durant has forced his way into the conversation after a stellar spring.

The odds feel pretty good we will be hearing both of these players’ names this fall, and it may not be long until each is a leading face at their respective positions. Penn State does have some other true freshmen that have bright futures ahead of them, including quarterback Drew Allar and defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton, but as far as the impact these players will have on 2022, it is hard to argue any will have a larger impact than Singleton, and perhaps Durant as well.

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Penn State DT enters transfer portal

Penn State saw a defensive tackle enter the transfer portal as the transfer portal deadline approaches

The final week of April is expected to be a busy one for transfer portal activity. With the deadline for players to notify their current schools of their desire to enter the transfer portal looming and spring football practices wrapping up around the country, there may not be a day that goes by without a flurry of transfer portal headlines. On Monday, one of those headlines came out of State College with news that defensive tackle [autotag]Cole Brevard[/autotag] has placed his name in the transfer portal.

News of the Penn State defensive tackle entering the transfer portal comes just a couple of days after Penn State wrapped spring practices with the Blue-White Game on Saturday. Brevard did play in the game, recording one tackle in the official box score from the modified scrimmage.

Brevard appeared in one game last season, marking his only playing time in his two seasons in Happy Valley. Brevard was a former four-star recruit out of high school from Indiana. Brevard committed to Penn Stae’s Class of 2020 in April of 2019 and enrolled early in 2020.

Brevard’s departure is not too shocking considering the immediate outlook many are projecting for the defensive line in the fall for the 2022 season. [autotag]PJ Mustipher[/autotag] will return as a healthy veteran and freshmen [autotag]Zane Durant[/autotag] and [autotag]Dani Dennis-Sutton[/autotag] are players expected to take on a role on the defensive line. Penn State has also added to the defensive line depth with the addition of Maryland transfer [autotag]Demeioun Robinson[/autotag]. Penn State is also expected to have players like [autotag]Coziah Izzard[/autotag] and [autotag]D’Von Ellies[/autotag] contribute on the defensive line this fall, making for a crowded and deep rotation already.

Brevard redshirted the 2020 season but can make up that year thanks to the NCAA’s granting of a free year of eligibility for all student-athletes impacted by the 2020 pandemic’s wrath on the sports calendar. Brevard will have four years of eligibility at his disposal as a result with whatever new school he may end up transferring to.

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Blue-White Game Report Card: Grading Penn State’s spring football game

The grades are in for Penn State’s performance in the Blue-White Game.

Penn State’s spring game wasn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard, even in a modified scoring system. And fans wanting to see drastic improvement from the program that has gone .500 over the past two seasons may be left wondering if Penn State is set up for another mediocre season in Happy Valley after watching the Blue-White Game. But Penn State’s final spring practice of the year had some positive developments and some reminders that help is on the way over the summer.

And now the grades are in for Penn State’s performance during the Blue-White Game. Here’s how each position group was graded for the spring game in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.

Quarterback: C

A recurring theme when it comes to the offensive grades following Penn State’s game is probably chalked up to a simple “Eh, it could have been better.” That was the basic takeaway from the performance of the quarterbacks overall, but any expectation of any passer just lighting up the spring game may have been unreasonable.

We were never likely to see a whole lot out of [autotag]Sean Clifford[/autotag], the sixth-year senior who really has little more to prove at this point. We know pretty much exactly what Clifford is, and if given time to process the field, he can make plays. But he had some overthrown passes at times. He did, however, throw the game’s only touchdown of the game.

The backup competition behind Clifford is the real storyline here, and the future of [autotag]Drew Allar[/autotag] is what fans are eager to witness. But a rough spring debut for the true freshman shows there is still work to be done in the big picture. If based solely on one afternoon, [autotag]Christian Veilleux[/autotag] proved he should be the team’s primary backup option heading into the season, although Allar should improve quickly.

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Tag: Zane Durant