Eric Lee Zomalt (born August 9, 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

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

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 selected by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the third round of the

1994 NFL draft The 1994 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 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Ma ...

and played for the team from 1994 to 1996. He played for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in 1996. 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

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

Early life

Zomalt attended Canyon Springs High School in

Moreno Valley, California Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's pop ...

. In 1989, Zomalt was named

CIF CIF, c.i.f. or Cif may refer to: Finance * Climate Investment Funds, in international climate change agreements * Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), a method of UK government funding for transport infrastructure * Cost, Insurance and Freight, ...

Division 5 Player of the Year and state 2A Player of the Year in

College career

Zomalt started at

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, for the Golden Bears.

Professional career

Zomalt was selected by the

in the third round (103rd overall) of the

. Against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, Zomalt started in his first game after

Mike Zordich Michael Edward Zordich (born October 12, 1963) is an American college football coach and former professional player who was recently the defensive backs coach for the Central Michigan Chippewas. He played 12 seasons as a defensive back in the ...

became injured. He became the starting free safety for the Eagles to begin the 1996 season, but the play of rookie

Brian Dawkins Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. (born October 13, 1973), nicknamed "Weapon X", is an American former professional football player who was a safety for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played ...

forced the coaching staff to bench him after two weeks. Zomalt was released on September 18, 1996. He was quickly signed by the

the same day. Zomalt started one game for the Jets at free safety, the season finale against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

. After the 1996 season, Zomalt became a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in some sports leagues, such as the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the term ...

, but the Jets did not extend a qualifying offer to him, making him an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He did not sign with another team after his stint with the Jets.

Coaching career

Zomalt and his brother, Greg, coached together at

San Leandro High School San Leandro High School (SLHS) is a four-year public high school in San Leandro, California, USA. Academics Academic courses include Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses. SLHS has specialized programs, including the Academy of Business & ...

San Leandro, California San Leandro (Spanish language, Spanish for "Leander of Seville, St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland, California, Oakland to the northwe ...

, Moreno Valley High School, Canyon Springs High School, and

Citrus Hill High School Citrus Hill High School is a secondary public co-ed school serving students of Moreno Valley, Perris and Riverside in the Val Verde Unified School District. The school name refers to the former orange groves. History Citrus Hill High Sch ...

Perris, California Perris is an old railway city in Riverside County, California, United States, located east-southeast of Los Angeles and north of San Diego. It is known for Lake Perris, skydiving, the Southern California Railway Museum, and its sunny dry cli ...

, where Zomalt has been the head coach since 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zomalt, Eric 1972 births Living people Players of American football from Moreno Valley, California American football safeties California Golden Bears football players Philadelphia Eagles players New York Jets players Players of American football from Los Angeles People from Perris, California