It’s early but Penn State star Anthony Zettel is rated among the top two or three Defensive Tackles on NFL Draft board. Right now he’s a sure fire NFL Draft first-rounder; as long as he stays healthy and produces. NFL scouts love his work ethic and discipline, and regard him to be an over-achiever, but also can over-achiever with tremendous talent.
“Anthony Zettel is strange in a good kind of way,” PSU Coach James Franklin said at Media Day.
“I’m a very open person and I kind of like to put people in uncomfortable positions where I know they’ll be kind of uncomfortable,” said Zettel at Media Day.
“I often put Coach Franklin in those positions a lot. For instance, when he was talking to the team in a meeting following a vacation, and I don’t know if he was looking bigger around the belly, but I said something to him.”
Franklin said, as Zettel tells the story “you really messed with my mind, I haven’t ate in two days because I was self-conscious about my belly now.”
A reporter asked Anthony Zettel what was the exact comment he made to coach Franklin.
“I told him hey coach you look like you’ve packed on a couple pounds there and he was like really? Really? And then he got all self-conscious so it hit him hard.”
Good times all around; all in good fun. But what about Zettel’s weight? You know that’s a topic which will be over-analyzed come NFL Scouting Combine and NFL Draft night.
“I’m going to keep consistently gaining weight, with muscle, I don’t want to add fat anymore,” he said.
“I’ve changed my diet the last five months. I would cheat here and there but a lot of proteins, cutting fats, and just a lot of extra calories with protein, to gain lean muscle mass,” Anthony Zettel continued.
Zettel was second in the Big Ten with 17 tackles for a loss last season, and could change Ohio State DL Joey Bosa for league defensive player of the year this season. Bosa, before news of his suspension broke, was considered a top contender to be the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft. The main question about Anthony Zettel on the next level is, where does he play? Three-technique? Do you line him up outside?
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is part of the FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous talk radio stations all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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