Eric Royce Zeier (born September 6, 1972) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for six seasons in 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 was a

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

candidate playing

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

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

, setting 67 school records and 18

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) records. In 1994, Zeier became the most prolific passer in SEC history as only the third quarterback in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

history to throw for more than 11,000 yards in his career. He earned All-Academic S.E.C. honors in 1992 and 1993 and was named UGA Team Captain in 1993 and 1994. He played in the NFL for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

(1995),

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

(1996–1998), and the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

(1999–2000). Zeier continues his affiliation with UGA by serving as the

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

at away games for the University of Georgia Bulldogs radio network and during the Tailgate Show and half time during home games. He currently resides in his hometown of Marietta, Georgia.

Career history

High school

Zeier started his career at Heidelberg American High School in

Heidelberg, Germany Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

in the fall of 1988 where he led them to a championship his sophomore year. He played

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

for the varsity basketball team and short stop for the varsity baseball team as well. His father coached the baseball team and was a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. The family made a strategic move to Marietta, Georgia in 1990 transferring to Marietta High School in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. His #15 jersey was retired at the school.

College

After graduating from Marietta, Zeier attended the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Zeier was one of the first notable

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

players to graduate ahead of his class so as to attend his college early and join the football team for spring practices, enrolling in January 1991. At Georgia, he compiled a 26–14–1 record as a starter. He made his debut as a

Bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

on October 5, 1991, against the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

, a game Georgia won 27–12. Zeier went on to start the final seven games of his freshman season and started every game during his final three seasons at Georgia. His tenure included a 4–0 record against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, a victory in the 1991 Independence Bowl over

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, and a victory in the 1993 Citrus Bowl over

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. Zeier finished his college career with 67 school records and 18

records. He became the SEC's all-time passing leader with 11,153 yards—a record which has been surpassed only by

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

and UGA's own David Greene and

Aaron Murray Aaron William Murray (born November 10, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback. He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) in the fifth round of the ...

. In 1993, his junior season, Zeier threw for 544 yards against Southern Miss, a school record. In 1994, Zeier was named the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

First-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

quarterback. Over his four years at Georgia, Zeier completed 877 of 1461 attempts for 11,153 yards, 67 touchdowns, and 37 interceptions.

NFL

Zeier was selected by the

in the third round of the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

. Over the next six years he went from Cleveland to the Baltimore Ravens to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finally back home to the Atlanta Falcons.

Broadcasting

Zeier has returned to the University of Georgia to take over the duty of color analyst on all away games.ESPN – Georgia football won't sound the same without Munson – College Football
/ref> He, along with Scott Howard, is taking the place of long time Georgia announcer Larry Munson. Eric made his first radio start on September 22, 2007, when Georgia played Alabama in which Georgia won in an overtime victory. Eric was heard on the Tailgate Show and halftime during the home games with Loran Smith and Neil "Hondo" Williamson.

References

External links

Former UGA star to lead health-care network

Team Doctors Press Release

Atlanta Business – Lunch with a VIP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeier, Eric 1972 births Living people American football quarterbacks Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players Georgia Bulldogs football players Players of American football from Pensacola, Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers players