Former defensive tackle at Penn State. 2025: 4 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 25 tackles.
6′1″ · 294 lb · Lake Nona, FL
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
sacks · 2025
4.5 TFL · 25 tackles · 1 hurries
Best game: 1 sacks, 1 TFL, 3 tackles, vs Indiana
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Former defensive tackle at Penn State. 2025: 4 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 25 tackles.
Zane Durant
Disrupts the pocket from the interior. Four seasons at Penn State, two different head coaches: James Franklin and Terry Smith. The receipt on tape: 8 tackles, 1 sacks against Northwestern, Week 7, 2025.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
How it ended
Four seasons at Penn State, 89 tackles — drafted at #181 overall by Buffalo.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: James Franklin → Terry Smith. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
Buffalo2026 NFL rookie season
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: sacks (93rd percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 3.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.3 |
| Road2g | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 3.6 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+3g | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Matt Campbell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Former four-star. Now #19 at the position.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Penn State | 25 | 14 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 2 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Penn State | 42 | 22 | 10.0 | 3.0 | 1 | -- | -- |
| 2023 | Penn State | 17 | 12 | 5.5 | 2.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2022 | Penn State | 5 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 89 | 49 | 21.0 | 10.0 | 3 | 1 | -- |
Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 8 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 46-11vs Nevada | 1 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 52-6vs Villanova | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 5 | L 24-30vs Oregon | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | L 37-42@ UCLA | 4 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-22vs Northwestern | 8 | 5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 10 | L 14-38@ Ohio State | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | L 24-27vs Indiana | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 37-10vs Nebraska | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 1 | |
| Total | 25 | 14 | 4.5 | 4.0 | 1 | 2 |
Play style
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
CFB Index positional classification
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
25 tackles. 2 passes defended. 1 interceptions. 4.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Player DNA
Disruptive interior rusher who lives in the backfield.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Hale Motu'apuaka’s 2022 season.
Matches Hale on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Ben Florentine's senior season at Wyoming (2025).
Matches Ben on
Differs from Ben on
Player DNA