Michigan native Anthony Zettel was one of Joe Paterno’s final recruits to don a Penn State uniform, the second highest rated recruit in the legendary coach’s final recruiting class, in 2011. The then-defensive end redshirted his first year in Happy Valley, before becoming a spark as a backup under then-coach Bill O’Brien.
It wasn’t until James Franklin and then-defensive coordinator Bob Shoop came into town that Zettel was shifted to the position in which he would have a much bigger impact - Defensive Tackle.
The change wasn’t met without its detractors; this blogger, for example, wasn’t sure how the comparatively undersized Zettel would fare on the interior of the line.