Nick Dawkins has seen more than enough of Zane Durant during practice the last three-plus seasons to appreciate how talented the Penn State senior is.
“He’s made me a better player because he allows me to compete against the best,” Dawkins said Tuesday. “I think Zane Durant is the best defensive tackle in the country because there’s no flaw to his game.
“It’s tough in practice because sometimes you’re like, ‘Man, this guy’s good.’ But he’s only gotten me better.”
Penn State senior center Nick Dawkins, a Parkland High School graduate, is the emotional leader of the offense. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Dawkins, a Parkland High School graduate about to begin his second season as the starting center, and Durant, a preseason All-American, are the rocks upon which the Nittany Lions’ foundation is built.
It’s been at least five decades since Penn State’s offensive and defensive lines began the same season with such great expectations.
The 6-1, 294-pound Durant enters his third season as a starter as one of the most disruptive defensive tackles in college football. He made 11 tackles for losses and three sacks last season despite facing two or three blockers at times.
“When your defensive tackles make tackles, instead of using up blocks, when they’re actually productive, it changes the whole way you play on defense,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “Zane is that guy. He’s that guy who can do that and who has done it.”
Durant was rated a four-star prospect out of Lake Nona, Fla., near Orlando. He has played in all 42 games since he arrived in 2022, including starts in 27-of-29 games the last two seasons.
He consistently finds a way to get into the backfield. If he doesn’t make a stop, his presence allows teammates to make them.
“He’s equally disruptive in the pass game as he is in the run game,” Dawkins said. “It’s his twitchiness, his lateral speed, the way he stunts and twists and how he gets up the field vertically.
“He’s just a problem for offensive linemen.”
Durant is expected to be just the second Penn State defensive tackle to be drafted since 2016. His decision to return to the Lions for his final season of eligibility came in the days after he made a memorable play against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl loss.
He pushed a guard backwards into quarterback Riley Leonard, who fell to the ground.
“That’s like stuff you tell people you’re gonna do,” Dawkins said. “It’s video-game, movie stuff. He’s doing that in the Orange Bowl versus a top-four opponent. That’s evil, to say the least. That’s like psychological and physical warfare.”
The 6-4, 295-pound Dawkins also decided to come back to Penn State, but for his sixth season. He had an extra year because of the pandemic and another one because of a medical redshirt.
He played impressively last season as a first-time starter, allowing just two sacks and anchoring the offensive line that paved the way for the Lions to lead the Big Ten in rushing and to have two 1,000-yard rushers in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
He’s one of four returning starters on the offensive line.
“Nick is the ultimate leader on offense,” Durant said Tuesday. “We go back and forth in practice. If anything goes wrong, he’ll pull the offense to the side. Drew (quarterback Drew Allar) will come back fired up and the offense will make plays just because of Nick Dawkins being vocal and leading the offense.
“His experience is second to none.”
Dawkins, not surprisingly, has been elected a team captain for the second time. Durant was elected for the first time, recognition he doesn’t take lightly.
“It means a lot to me,” he said, “just to be picked by my peers, coaches and everybody around Penn State. I take great pride in it. I’m just willing to lead this team and try to do everything I can to help this team.”
PickSix Previews ranks the Lions’ defensive line as No. 1 in the country and their offensive line as No. 2. They’re strong and deep in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Their battles in practice are fierce.
“When you get to see that consistently and get to play against that, iron sharpens iron,” Dawkins said. “When you go against the best, you get better.”
