Zane Durant finds a piece of ‘football heaven’ at Penn State, but heart remains in Lake Nona

As Penn State defensive tackle Zane Durant reaches for the stars, he looks to his Lake Nona community to stay grounded.

He’s all smiles and laughs as more than 100 kids rushed onto Lake Nona High’s practice field, eager to participate in his free football camp.

Durant also embraces every teammate and former coach that came out to support him.

It has always been about more than football.

“Zane’s that kid,” said Anthony Paradiso, who coached Durant at Lake Nona all four years. “He appreciates where he came from. He appreciates people in his life, and he is always going to try to help somebody else. Zane wants everyone else to be better than him.

“Take football away, he is [still] one of the greatest kids I’ve been around.”

The July 15 camp was a family affair. Durant’s three older sisters, Arielle, Gabrielle and Danielle, and mother Rojina, registered the participants upon arrival. Durant’s father, Marcus, greeted the families. All five wore their “Zane Durant Youth Football Camp” T-shirts, and Rojina sported sparkly No. 28 jersey earrings, his college number.

His close-knit family instilled the importance of community, which is why Durant aims to be an active member in Lake Nona youth football. He plans to make his camp annual.

“This camp means a lot to me growing up in Lake Nona and wanting to play D-I,” said Durant. “Just giving back to the kids, I know how it is when you want to workout but you don’t have guys that can push you. So I do want to give back, give the kids an opportunity to work out and get better.”

As a two-time high school captain, Durant led the Lions to the 8A state playoffs in 2019 and 2020 and received 22 Division I college offers.

He enrolled at Penn State in 2022, appearing in all 13 games as the Nittany Lions posted a winning record (11-2) and won the Rose Bowl.

Durant has higher expectations for his sophomore campaign and eventually will set his sights on the NFL draft.

Although his dreams have taken him far away — Durant spurned UCF for Penn State — he’s grateful for his past.

“I want Zane to stay humble and to really reach out to the ones that look up to him,” his mother, Rojina, said. “This is what Zane was when he started in Lake Nona. We moved over here in 2009. He started with i9 Sports [youth leagues], and then he went into tackle football with peewee, the junior Lions, and then, he went to high school, and now he is off at college. So this is just fitting. This is him.”

From offense to defense

Durant dreamed of playing D-I football since he was six years old. He sat on the couch watching YouTube videos of Adrian Peterson, the famous running back for Oklahoma who became NFL MVP (2012) and a three-time league rushing leader with almost 15,000 career yards.

“He naturally wanted to play,” said his father, Marcus, who played football at Florida A&M. “He was self-driven. I never pushed him to play. He took off from there on an uphill trajectory.”

Added Danielle: “He’s always been hardworking, dedicated. Always on the field, always outside working. That’s just him. Never let off. Never had a rest day.”

His speed made him a perfect running back in little league.

“When he was younger, he was the biggest kid on the field, the fastest one out there,” said Gabrielle. “He would light them up, no matter what position anybody else was playing.”

For the long haul, however, Zane thought he was best suited on the defensive line.

That intuition brought great success. He was Lake Nona High’s defensive player of the year in 2019 and ’20.

After leading the Lions to regional playoff victory in ’20, he was named Florida 8A All-Conference second team.

“He was a dynamic leader, and as a coach you trust those types of kids,” said Paradiso. “You’re going to win and lose with those kids. He developed that leadership about him, but at the same time he is such a fun and down-to-earth kid. He has an awesome personality to be around.”

As a senior, the 6-1, 250-pound defensive end recorded 66 tackles (28 tackles for loss), 38 quarterback hurries and 4 forced fumbles.

He set the school’s single-season sack record (15) and career sack record (24.5).

Durant ranked eighth in the Sentinel’s 2022 Super60 rankings.

“I blew up through my sophomore and junior years,” he said. “Just being a regular football player trying to make it D-I and eventually blowing up and having my ranking go through the roof, it was a phenomenal experience.”

The 4-star college prospect ranked No. 296 overall and No. 36 in Florida, according to 247Sports composite rankings.

Durant signed with Penn State on Dec. 15, 2021, joining the No. 2 recruiting class in the Big Ten and No. 8 class in the nation.

“Wherever Zane ended up, he was always going to be a success,” said Paradiso. “He is one of the greatest players I’ve ever coached in high school football. It comes down to the individual, and Zane has that individual fire that is igniting him.

“He had goals and a dedication that is hard to get at the high school level.”

Penn State and beyond

Durant calls Penn State “football heaven.” He was certain of his college decision the moment he stepped on campus.

“When he came back from his visit, his energy was different,” said Gabrielle. “Everybody was raving. He was talking about how it was like a family up there. I felt that even though his family is here in Florida, he had an extended family in Pennsylvania that would be there for him. He would feel loved and supported even if we could not always be there.”

UCF couldn’t keep him home.

“Ultimately, when it comes down to your heart and what you know is best for you, you have to take that leap,” said sibling Arielle. “He felt that it was Penn State, so we support him, and we’re happy he made that decision.”

Aside from a football family, Durant sought a program that could win big.

The freshman gained 40 pounds to fit the mold the Nittany Lions needed and excelled at defensive tackle.

Durant recorded 5 tackles and 1 sack in 174 snaps. His best performance was against Maryland on Nov. 12 with 3 tackles and his first career sack.

“If anybody knows me, they know I like to win,” said Durant. “I’m a competitive guy. I knew [Penn State head coach] James Franklin was going to bring that to the Big Ten.”

Despite the added weight, Durant maintains his uncanny speed and cutting ability. He ran a 4.63 40-yard dash last spring, fast enough to break the NFL combine record for his position.

“Being 285 and running a 4.6, that is almost a freak of nature. That will help him against slower offensive linemen,” Arielle said. “It will definitely help him accelerate and get to the quarterback.”

Durant hopes to become a leader this year, on and off the field, helping the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten championship. That hasn’t happened since 2016 and only three times since 2000. He reports to preseason training camp at the beginning of August.

“Penn State is looking to do things to build on last season,” his father said. “Zane played 13 games. I’m looking for him to play a lot more. You never know, he may be No. 1. He is working hard to get to the top of the depth chart.”

Marcus and Rojina already plan six visits to Pennsylvania this fall, and Durant’s three sisters will tag along for the annual ‘White Out’ game on Sept. 23.

While Durant’s immediate attention is on college, his long-term goal is the NFL.

“His response to choosing to Penn State, as just the mature, hard working kid that he is, was: ‘I believe Penn State is the best place for me to go to help me prepare for the league’. He has goals beyond college,” said Paradiso, who maintains regular communication with Durant.

No matter how far away Durant’s journey takes him, he’ll always carry a piece of Lake Nona.

“He played with the junior Lions, Lake Nona senior Lions, and now the Nittany Lions,” said Marcus Durant. “Through and through, he is a Lion.”