Penn State Nittany Lions defensive tackle Zane Durant (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)
Nine Penn State Football standouts will take part in this week’s NFL combine in Indianapolis ahead of April’s NFL draft.
Over the past decade, Penn State players have had a history of showing out at the combine, showcasing elite athleticism among top NFL prospects.
The Indy Takeover: How Durant & Dennis-Sutton Stunned the NFL
This year has been no different, as two former Penn State defenders tore up the Combine on day one.
According to Saturday Blitz’s Nicholas Rome, both Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant were among the top five players who boosted their draft stock the most on Thursday at the NFL combine.
Dani Dennis-Sutton: A Rare “9.93” Athletic Profile
Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton showcased his elite athleticism and impressive size during day one of the NFL combine Thursday.
With a 33.380 arm length on an impressive 6-foot-6 frame, Dennis-Sutton showed he can be extremely athletic for his size.
Dennis-Sutton ran a 4.63 40-yard dash and had the longest broad jump of any defensive end at 10-foot-11-inches. His RAS score for the combine was an elite 9.93 out of 10, ranking him 15th overall among over 2,000 defensive ends to take part in the combine since 1987.
According to Rome, Dennis-Sutton “could be rising back up draft boards” after impressing during the combine workouts.
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Zane Durant: The “Lightning Bolt” of the Interior
Defensive tackle Zane Durant showed that, despite his slightly smaller-than-average frame at the defensive tackle position at 6-foot-1, 290 pounds, he can be one of the most athletic defensive tackles available in this year’s draft.
Durant posted a blazing 4.76 40-yard dash time (faster than Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes). This was the fourth fastest time for a defensive tackle in the history of the NFL combine. Durant also scored an impressive 9.22 RAS during
290-pound @PennStateFball DT Zane Durant casually out running @PatrickMahomes and @dak 🫢2026 NFL Combine on @nflnetworkStream on @NFLPlus
Thursday’s workout, ranking him 161st all time at the combine of over 2,000 defensive tackle prospects. Durant admitted at the combine performance that he wanted to use his senior bowl and combine performances to “remind [NFL scouts] who I am and what my assets are” after a down year in productivity in 2025. Durant noted that his feedback from NFL scouts has been about his “get-off.”
Both Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant impressed at the combine and did what they could to improve their draft stock ahead of April’s NFL draft. With the combine performance out of the way, Dennis-Sutton and Durant will wait to hear when their names will be called in Pittsburgh in April.
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