Penn State’s starting lineup against Marshall had one name that caught plenty of people off guard: Josiah Zayas.
The freshman cornerback was announced on the videoboard in place of the Zion Tracy spot many expected to see, and the move paid off in a big way. In his first career start, Zayas turned in a sharp debut with two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry as Penn State rolled to a 45-0 win.
For the people inside the program, though, it wasn’t much of a surprise at all. The coaching staff and Zayas’ teammates had already watched the work he put in since arriving on campus.
“He did that since he got here and throughout fall camp, throughout spring ball,” safety Jamison Patton said Wednesday. “When you turn that tape on, he was constantly making plays.”
Zayas also had to handle the full weight of a first start. It was his first college game, and the atmosphere was unlike anything he had experienced before. Still, he settled in quickly and looked right at home.
Matt Campbell said Zayas did “a great job” and added that “he certainly didn’t look or feel like” a freshman.
The 4-star recruit’s climb up the depth chart came during the middle of fall camp, when things started to slow down for him. Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn said that was the turning point.
“I would say about halfway during camp, you just saw him thinking less, playing quicker, talking a lot more out there,” Lynn said Tuesday. “And the biggest thing is moving on from bad plays, not letting the play before affect the next play, and then he just got better and better every day in camp, and he felt like he earned the right to play.”
That preparation showed on Saturday. Zayas blended into a defense full of experienced players and didn’t play like a newcomer trying to survive his first assignment. He looked like he belonged.
“I don't know if you can say enough about what he did defensively Saturday for a true freshman,” Campbell said.
The performance also reinforced what the Penn State staff believes about him moving forward. Lynn’s defense “tries to put all of us in position to succeed,” and Zayas already looks like someone ready to take advantage of that.
“He played like a player on our defense,” safety Marcus Neal Jr. said. “We put him out.
Everybody got trust in (Josiah) to make plays. I say he plays like he's a very mature player, very smart player.
You probably don't even know he's a freshman when he's out there.”
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