Penn State pass-rusher called 'The best D-tackle I've played against' by All-Big Ten blocker who faced two first-round stars last year

Penn State pass-rusher called ‘The best D-tackle I’ve played against’ by All-Big Ten blocker who faced two first-round stars last year originally appeared on A to Z Sports.

One of the offseason’s best moments is when Bruce Feldman turns in his annual Freaks List. The Penn State Nittany Lions have become a mainstay on his aggregation of gaudy and usually unverified workout numbers, but James Franklin’s factory of freaks has been routinely respected for turning out elite NFL athletes. His 2025 roster is yet another loaded crop of alien-like movers.

The top-ranking Nittany Lion on the list is senior defensive tackle Zane Durant. While Durant had Day 2 grades for the 2025 NFL Draft, the late-bloomer opted to enhance his stock without Abdul Carter stealing his spotlight. Durant had only three sacks in 2024 but was visually more disruptive than that.

Durant landed eighth on the Freaks List, and Feldman had tremendously deep research on hand for the senior. Here’s what he shared.

“This is his third season on the Freaks List. “Zane is the best D-tackle I’ve played against,” said Penn State center Nick Dawkins, who has faced several top 50 draft picks in his college career. Among them: Oregon first-rounder Derrick Harmon and Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams.

“I’ve played against some dang good defensive linemen, but Zane Durant is the best. It’s the twitchiness off the ball. It’s the lateral movement. It’s the combination and recovery of being able to have a counter move that is a counter to power and/or speed. It’s his IQ. Being able to pick up screens, picking out stretch plays, picking up gap schemes and calling it out before the play, and it’s his killer mentality. I could go on for two hours about this stuff. He’s just a different cat.”

In 2024, Durant had 42 tackles, 11 TFLs and three sacks. The 6-1, 290-pound senior from Florida has run a 4.66 40 and hit a max velocity of 21.1 mph. He clocked a 4.43 shuttle time, broad jumped 9-10 and vertical jumped 30 1/2 inches. He’s bench pressed 425 pounds and squatted 660. This offseason, he power cleaned 345 pounds. Ty Blanding is another Freaky DT; at 6-1, 292 pounds, the sophomore ran a 4.82 40 this offseason and squatted 675 pounds.”

Durant played the seventh-most snaps on Penn State’s defense last year and was second on the line to Carter in usage. PFF credited him with 28 QB pressures, 33 tackles, and 27 run stops.

Dawkins played 978 snaps last year as the team’s starting center. A fifth-year senior this fall, Dawkins struggled in his first full season on the field. He allowed a whopping 29 QB pressures with eight penalties in 2024.

This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.

Penn State pass-rusher called ‘The best D-tackle I’ve played against’ by All-Big Ten blocker who faced two first-round stars last year

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