Nearly two years after arriving as a three-star recruit on Penn State’s campus, Zion Tracy ran full steam into the end zone with the ball in his hands. The crowd looking on erupted simultaneously as he scored to give Penn State football a two-score lead over Ohio State.

“It was a crazy feeling,” Tracy said. “I didn’t feel like I was really there. I was just running.”

In his first two seasons as a Nittany Lion, Tracy has quickly made his way from the bottom of a crowded cornerback room to regular playing time on defense and special teams. His play in Penn State’s last two games was a sign he’s emerging as a valuable weapon on defense and special teams.

The Hempstead, New York, native had a season-high three tackles at Wisconsin two weeks ago. And, of course, he followed it up with a pick-six against the Buckeyes. He has eight more tackles and two pass breakups this season.

Tracy still isn’t first on the cornerback depth chart. Veteran Jalen Kimber and five-star transfer A.J. Harris tend to start, and Cam Miller gets plenty of playing time.

While Tracy is being eased into more time at cornerback, he’s been baptized by fire as Penn State’s starting punt returner while wide receiver Kaden Saunders continues working his way back from an injury. Tracy was a punt returner in high school, so the position wasn’t completely foreign to him.

In his first game on the job against UCLA, Tracy had three returns for only 11 yards. He had one return for a yard against USC, then two for one against the Badgers. He improved markedly against the Buckeyes, with two returns for 21 yards. Tracy has eight punt returns for 4.4 yards per return and 35 total yards this season.

Given his development in both areas, the coaching staff is optimistic he’ll become a much bigger contributor.

“I think you’ll continue to see him trending in the right direction, just practicing and playing at a really high level with a ton of confidence,” James Franklin said.

Confidence, Franklin added, is what he’s seen Tracy improve the most over the last two weeks.

“You’ve seen it on defense. I think it’s also translating to him as a punt returner,” Franklin said. “I saw him more confident on Saturday.”

Tracy feels more confident and has eased into his role as a punt returner. He added that Saunders has helped him adjust, while familiarity with the job also played a part.

“The more you do it, the more comfortable you feel at it. And then it gets to second-hand nature,” he said.

Repetition has been key to Tracy not just as a punt returner, but on defense as well. The play he picked off Will Howard was similar to the one he saw against Wisconsin. Getting a read on that play against Ohio State was less difficult because of what he’d seen a week prior.

Tracy’s confidence trickles down to those blocking for him during returns and while he’s playing cornerback.

“It gives us confidence, especially when he’s back there on the punt return, like you got Jalen Kimber and Elliot Washington the gunners and the bullets. So just trying to make sure that we block for him, give him the opportunity to make a play, and just any way that we can produce a play in the corner room; That’s what we look to do,” Harris said.

Tracy’s development has led to success on the field. It gives everyone — his coach, his teammates, and most importantly, himself — more confidence.

“It really boosts my confidence,” Tracy said. “I feel like I can do anything like how I thought I could.”