Keith Jackson Zinger (born October 9, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense (sports), offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide ...

. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 26 and April 27 ...

. He played college football at

Louisiana State Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. He was a member of both LSU’s national championship teams in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Early years

Zinger attended to

Leesville High School Leesville High School is a school located in Leesville, Louisiana, United States. The 9-12 school is a part of the Vernon Parish School Board. School uniforms This means that students can wear clothing that conforms to the Vernon Parish Dress ...

and was ranked as the nation’s No. 13

in the country by Rivals.com.Keith Zinger Bio - LSUsports.net
/ref> He also was named an

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

Super Southern 100, Baton Rouge Advocate Second Dozen and the New Orleans Times-Picayune Top 25 Blue-Chip list. Zinger also was a first-team 4A all-state selection and in his senior season, he had 322 yards on 23 receptions for two touchdowns.

College career

Zinger played in 13 games in his freshman season at LSU, caught three passes for 31 yards and was named Freshmen All-SEC squad by the league's coaches. He was member of the team that won the BCS National Championship in the

2004 Sugar Bowl The 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl, the BCS National Championship Game for the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season, 2003 college football season, was played on January 4, 2004 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The teams were the 2003 ...

, by beating the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the " Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land R ...

21-14. In 2005, Zinger scored his first career touchdown on a nine-yard reception from

JaMarcus Russell JaMarcus Trenell Russell (born August 9, 1985) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the Oakland Raiders. Highly successful at LSU, where he was MVP of the 2007 Sugar ...

in a game against

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...

. In 2007, during his senior season, he played in 14 games and caught three passes for 51 yards averaging 17.0) and a long reception of 27 yards. He also had a career-long 27-yard reception against the

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...

in the 2007 SEC Championship Game. to help the tigers reach the

2008 BCS National Championship Game The 2008 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2008 Allstate BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the No. 1 and ...

to defeat the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

Zinger was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the

(232nd overall). He signed to a four-year contract. He was released on the final cuts but was added to the practice squad and spent the entire season there.

New York Jets

Zinger was signed by the New York Jets on August 7, 2011. He was waived September 2.

Family

He is son of Randy and Michele Zinger. He is married to the former Ashley McKenzie. He has four siblings; Clinton, Gareth, Priscilla, and Biancia.

References

External links

*
LSU Tigers bioAtlanta Falcons bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zinger, Keith 1984 births Living people People from Leesville, Louisiana German players of American football American football tight ends LSU Tigers football players Atlanta Falcons players Sportspeople from Heidelberg