Chandler Zavala (born April 2, 1999) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the Fairmont State Falcons and

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

Early life

Zavala was born on April 2, 1999, in

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about north of Miami. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded a population of 80,380. Boynton Beach is located in the Mi ...

. He later attended Forest Park High School in

Woodbridge, Virginia Woodbridge is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located south of Washington, D.C. Bounded by the Occoquan River, Occoquan and Potomac River, Potomac rivers, Woodbridge had 44,668 residents at the ...

, where he originally played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

before a coach advised him on playing football as it provided a better chance for him to receive an athletic scholarship.

College career

Zavala played

for the

Fairmont State Fighting Falcons The Fairmont State Fighting Falcons are the athletic teams that represent Fairmont State University, located in Fairmont, West Virginia, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Falcons compete as members of the Mountain East Conference ...

from 2017 until deciding to transferring due to Fairmont's 2020 season being cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He eventually chose to play for the

as his mother lived near campus. Zavala was named first-team All-

Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 11 schools, m ...

with Fairmont in 2018 and 2019 and first-team All- Atlantic Coastal Conference with NC State in 2022.

Professional career

Zavala was selected by the

in the fourth round, 114th overall, of the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

. He was named the Week 1 starting right guard as a rookie, but moved to left guard the following week and started the next four games. In a Week 5 game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, Zavala suffered a neck injury in the first quarter. He was sent to a local hospital. He returned to the starting lineup in Week 11 before suffering a knee injury the following week. He was placed on injured reserve on November 29, 2023.

Personal life

Zavala's father, Demetrio, is a frequent contestant on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

competitive cooking show '' Chopped''.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio

NC State Wolfpack bio

Fairmont State Fighting Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zavala, Chandler 1999 births Living people American football offensive guards NC State Wolfpack football players Fairmont State Fighting Falcons football players Players of American football from Virginia Players of American football from Boynton Beach, Florida Carolina Panthers players