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Anthony Zettel’s family had made the drive in from Michigan to see him play.
A day after the Penn State captain had lost his father to cancer, those closest to him traveled with him from West Branch to Beaver Stadium in September.
Now Zettel is coming back to them.
The senior defensive lineman was drafted by his home state Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the NFL draft on Saturday. Two picks later, teammate and fellow captain Jordan Lucas went to the Miami Dolphins.
Zettel had spent part of his final year at Penn State going back to Michigan after games to be with his father, Terry.
“He’d be really happy and proud of me,” Zettel said Saturday on a Detroit conference call. “Words really can’t express how happy and proud he would be of me. Just go back home and be (a) Lion, you know?”
One of the most popular players in recent years for the Nittany Lions, Zettel entertained on the field — leading the Lions in sacks, tackles for loss and even interceptions as a junior — as well as off of it.
At Penn State’s pro day last month, a few teams even asked Zettel to show off his hands, working out as a fullback/H-back, similar to how Dan Klecko would make the occasional cameo on offense with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.
“Anthony has always been willing to sacrifice for the good of the team and that is a trait that will serve him well in the NFL,” Penn State coach James Franklin said in a statement. “His unique athleticism and explosiveness make him a very intriguing prospect at a number of positions.”
Zettel was taken with the 202nd overall pick. Lucas went at No. 204, giving Penn State five draftees — the program’s most since 2010. DT Austin Johnson (second round, Titans), QB Christian Hackenberg (second round, Jets) and DE/OLB Carl Nassib (third round, Browns) were selected on Friday.
Lucas played both cornerback and safety for the Lions but prefers corner. And that’s where the Dolphins intend to use him.
“They want me to be a press corner, physical,” Lucas told reporters in Miami. “And that’s the type of guy I am.”
“Jordan Lucas will have a successful NFL career,” Penn State cornerbacks coach Terry Smith said. “He is a student of the game that has a tremendous skill set as a defensive back. He’s a physical player that tackles and covers man-to-man well. He plays the game with great passion.”
Under center
Matt McGloin has yet another highly touted quarterback to battle against.
The latest competition for the former Penn State and West Scranton standout is Michigan State’s Connor Cook, who was drafted at the top of the fourth round by the Oakland Raiders.
McGloin has spent three seasons with the Raiders and was the top backup to Derek Carr a year ago, receiving a second-round tender by Oakland as a restricted free agent this offseason.
He’ll get a push from Cook, a fellow Big Ten alum who stunningly fell into the third day of the draft after being considered a potential first-round pick at one point. Apparent concerns over his attitude and leadership skills scared some teams off, leaving him as the seventh quarterback off the board.
“It’s a lot of motivation,” Cook said on a Raiders conference call. “I would say more motivation than anything. Seeing all the other quarterbacks go when you think you’re a pretty good quarterback, it just motivates you. I’m going to go into this league with a chip on my shoulder and try to earn everything that I achieve.”
Sounds familiar.
Back in the fall, some pundits projected that the Big Ten could have as many as three quarterbacks drafted in the first round in Hackenberg, Cook and Ohio State’s Cardale Jones. This despite the conference not producing a first-round quarterback in more than two decades.
As April came to a close, however, former Penn State great Kerry Collins remains the answer to that particular trivia question from back in 1995.
For a little more perspective on the Big Ten’s drought, the league’s last three first-round quarterbacks are Collins, Jeff George and, yes, Jim Harbaugh.
On the bright side, five Big Ten quarterbacks in total were drafted this weekend with Hackenberg and Cook being followed by Jones (fourth round, Buffalo), Indiana’s Nate Sudfeld (sixth round, Washington) and Michigan’s Jake Rudock (sixth round, Detroit).
Ohio State’s quarterback-turned-wideout Braxton Miller went in the third round to Houston.
DT Carter dismissed
The Lions will have one fewer option to try and replace Zettel and Johnson in the middle of the line this fall.
Redshirt freshman Kamonte Carter was booted from the program last week for violations of team rules, Penn State said Saturday. Lions247 first reported Carter’s dismissal.
It’s the second Penn State player to be removed from the roster since the end of spring practice. Tight end Brent Wilkerson had previously been suspended after being charged with indecent assault and was cut outright earlier this week.
Carter is not facing any legal issues, mirroring last summer when classmate Daiquan Kelly was also dismissed by Franklin for violating team rules.
A four-star recruit out of Maryland, Carter had played all over in high school but was ticketed for the defensive line at Penn State, landing at tackle while redshirting in 2015.
Franklin mentioned him once at the start of spring practice — “You look at Kamonte Carter, who was a high school quarterback and now I think he’s 305 pounds and maturing in a lot of different ways” — but he did not play in the Blue-White Game.
