Last offseason, Penn State had more than a few NFL Draft-eligible veterans forgo the prospect of playing on Sundays in 2025 to use their final year of eligibility in Happy Valley. However, they returned to the Nittany Lions to win a national championship, not play in the Pinstripe Bowl.
When Penn State’s season went south with a three-game losing streak that got James Franklin fired, interim head coach Terry Smith did an incredible job of keeping the team together and playing hard enough to rally for a three-game win streak to reach bowl eligibility. However, no coach, not even the newly hired Matt Campbell, could convince (or should) convince that group to play in a meaningless Pinstripe Bowl and risk injury before making the jump to the NFL.
So, it's reasonable to expect a significant number of opt-outs throughout the next month, and that process started on Wednesday with senior safety Zakee Wheatley and senior defensive tackle Zane Durant both announcing that they will not take the field against Clemson at Yankee Stadium on December 27, and instead will begin preparations for the 2026 NFL Draft.
Zane Durant and Zakee Wheatley will not play in the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Clemson
Wheatley played the second-most defensive snaps for the Nittany Lions this season, trailing only Amare Campbell with 658, and the veteran safety played all over the defense. Jim Knowles brought a three-safety look with him from Ohio State and primarily deployed Wheatley in the Caleb Downs role, splitting his time between free safety, the box, and the slot.
Wheatley finished with 74 tackles, also second to Campbell, one interception, a forced fumble, and a pass breakup. Wheatley finished the 2024 season with three interceptions, including two in the College Football Playoff, and now finishes his Penn State career with six INTs.
Durant, like Wheatley, could have left for the draft after last season, but opted to return with other veterans like Dani Dennis-Sutton, Nicholas Singleton, Kaytron Allen, and, of course, Drew Allar.
Despite playing four fewer games and nearly 200 fewer defensive snaps, Durant matched his sack total from 2024 with four this season, and his 20 pressures were third on the team behind Dennis-Sutton and Zuriah Fisher.
While he won’t be a first-round pick, especially as an undersized defensive tackle at 6-foot-1, 287 pounds, Durant is explosive and disruptive enough on the interior that he could find his way into Day 2 of this year’s draft. That preparation will begin now with his career as a Nittany Lion complete.
He ends his four years with 89 total tackles, 10 sacks, and 1 interception.