After a successful career as an undrafted free agent (four seasons with the Lions followed by a handful of games with the Cardinals, Dolphins, and Saints in 2019), fan favorite Zach Zenner retired from football in 2019 but returned in a new way off the field. Zenner was dismissed just before the last preseason game in 2019, toward the end of the Matt Patricia-Bob Quinn era. Coming back from a back ailment in 2018, his special teams value wasn’t enough to beat out the other reserve running backs.
Matt Zimmer of Sioux Falls Live published a Q&A essay with the former South Dakota State standout running back on Wednesday. While much of the discussion focused on South Dakota State University football, there were some interesting details concerning Zenner’s present career as a professional agent. While on the Lions, Zenner did a lot of extra work in science and health as a natural extension of his Biology studies at SDSU. Instead of pursuing a complete medical post-graduate career, he focused on sports nutrition. According to an interview he gave to OSDB in 2023, his family played a significant role:
“So, about four months after taking the MCAT, I realized that I didn’t want to go to medical school anymore,” she said. “My oldest son was approximately a year and a half at the time, and my wife and I were expecting a second boy soon. I anticipated to play in the league for a few more years before attending medical school, which takes at least seven years. I didn’t want to miss the chance to see my children grow up.”
Zenner now has a sports nutrition consulting company called Zion Performance, which allows him to use his skills in psychology (a minor at SDSU), medicine, and nutrition (a degree from George Washington University in 2023) to help Minnesota athletes. At the same time, Zenner has been an NFLPA-certified agent since October 2021. He is a partner at One West Sports Group with Chris Gittings, Zenner’s former agent.
According to Zimmer’s post, Zenner was disappointed that supporters in Detroit booed Stafford during the playoff game against the Rams, but he was pleased for the Lions’ players and fans.
“Coach (Jim) Caldwell always told us that if we gave this city a consistent winner, they would give us the keys. I believe you saw it this year. It was a team you could believe in and root for, and Ford Field was like a jet engine.”
It’s great to see Zenner doing well in this new chapter of his football career, and we wish him all the best.
Moving on to the rest of your weekend notes:
In his most recent video dissecting the Lions’ offseason selections, our own Meko Scott discussed whether the team should bring back Jonah Jackson and Graham Glasgow. Subscribe to Pride of Detroit’s YouTube account to ensure you never miss out on any of Meko’s fantastic work:
- Last week, the Lions media staff submitted “Top 10 plays” videos to the team’s official YouTube account for each of the three key units: offense, defense, and special teams. On Friday night, they shifted gears and shared a video featuring the top Trick Plays of the season. These plays were so good that even our own flea-flicker curmudgeon said the reverse flea-flicker was “acceptable,” so take a look.
- Kyle Meinke and Ben Raven from MLive released a mailbag edition of their Dungeon of Doom podcast, which addressed offseason questions. You may listen to the complete 57-minute audio on Spotify’s web player.
- According to Michael Lopez of NFL Data and Analytics, the 2024 Big Data Bowl will take place on February 28 and will focus on:
The competition will also feature these five finalists competing for our grand prize #BigDataBowl https://t.co/DsW4LORmco pic.twitter.com/TmCbsfgkKk
— Michael Lopez (@StatsbyLopez) February 16, 2024
The competition will also feature these five finalists competing for our grand prize #BigDataBowl https://t.co/DsW4LORmco pic.twitter.com/TmCbsfgkKk
— Michael Lopez (@StatsbyLopez) February 16, 2024
The game before the game: @aidanhutch97 vs. Admin pic.twitter.com/D4ubG5DJMb
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) February 15, 2024
We are excited to announce the inaugural Detroit Sports Spectacular, coming June 7-9, 2024 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Nov, MI. Come meet Detroit legend himself, @BarrySanders!!!
For full show details, follow us and visit us online at https://t.co/aqQrwyeC0B pic.twitter.com/asuDJHSh3A
— Detroit Sports Spectacular (@DetroitCardShow) February 16, 2024
