Zane Durant is the only Penn State Pinstripe Bowl opt out right now: 'We're super happy and we're super proud of him'

Penn State defensive tackle Zane Durant is the first Nittany Lion to opt out of the postseason to declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. It is hard, if not impossible, to believe that he will be the only player to do so. But, as of 1 p.m. ET on Tue., Dec. 9, interim head coach Terry Smith says he is alone in making that decision.

“He chose to move on at this point,” Smith said Tuesday morning. “We’re super happy and we’re super proud of him. At this point he’s the only one that has opted out. We’re just looking forward to putting our best team forward and trying to get ready for this Clemson team that creates all kind of challenges for us.”

Smith spoke about the matter on a Pinstripe Bowl conference call. His counterpart for the game, Dabo Swinney, suggested that any similar news from his program won’t come until later in the week, in response to a question about cornerback Avieon Terrell declaring for the NFL Draft on Monday.

“We’ll have our team meeting on Thursday, and that will be our first practice, and we’ll see where everybody is,” Swinney said. “I’m sure we’ve got a couple of injury situations as well that we’ve got to deal with, but we’ll get it all ready to go and head up to New York on the 22nd as well and get ready to play.”

More: Why did Terry Smith want to stay at Penn State as a member of Matt Campbell’s staff? Here’s what he said

Both teams figure to be without at least a few starters for the Dec. 27 bowl game at Yankee Stadium. When and if those who do opt out make their decision public remains to be seen. But, as it relates to Durant, he got ahead of things on Monday as Penn State kicked off practice.

“Zane has meant a lot to what we’ve done defensively here at Penn State,” Smith said. “He anchored our defensive line. He’s played tremendous football for us. We’ve gotten great value from Zane.”

Durant put out a statement about his decision on social media. It reads as follows:

“I want to thank Penn State University for the memories and experiences that it has given me. I would like to thank Coach Deion, Coach Manny, Coach Dex, Coach Scott, Coach Allen and Coach Terry.

“For the past four years, I want to thank everyone that I got the chance to work with while attending Penn State.

“I also want to thank the Lord because without him this wouldn’t be possible.

“Thank you momma and pops for everything y’all instiled in me.

“I want to thank Coach Franklin for giving me the opportunity to attend Penn State, and for being a mentor and example to me.

“With that being said, I will be opting out of playing in the bowl and will be declaring for the 2026 NFL draft.”