Hunndens Guiseppi "Peppi" Zellner (born March 14, 1975) 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

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

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) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

. 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 Fort Valley State Wildcats.

Early life

Zellner attended Mary Persons High School, where he lettered in

and

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 ...

. In football, he was an All-Area selection and an All-District selection, and Prep Football Report named him as an All-Dixie selection. After his senior season, he participated in the Florida-Georgia All-Star Game. In

, he was an All-Area selection and played in the North-South All-Star tournament. Although he received a scholarship from 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 ...

, academic problems forced him to join

Georgia Military College Georgia Military College (GMC) is a Public college, public military junior college in Milledgeville, Georgia. It is divided into the junior college, a military junior college program, high school, middle school, and elementary school. It was ori ...

. He began as a strong-side linebacker and was moved to the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

as a sophomore. He registered 129 tackles (33 for loss) and 15 sacks in his two junior college seasons. In 1996, he transferred to

Fort Valley State University Fort Valley State University (FVSU; formerly Fort Valley State College and Fort Valley Normal and Industrial School) is a public land-grant historically black university in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University Syste ...

, but eligibility problems limited his playing time to only 3

games, collecting 18 tackles (4 for loss). In 1997, he focused on

, starting at forward (17 out of 26 games), averaging 10.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots, while helping the school win its first conference championship since 1969. In 1998, he returned to play football at

, posting 60 tackles, 14 tackles for loss (led the team) and 3 sacks. He received

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 ...

and All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Zellner was selected by the

in the fourth round (132nd overall) of the

1999 NFL draft The 1999 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 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...

, after impressing in the scouting combine, recording the second fastest 40-yard dash time, first in the broad jump and first in the 20-yard dash among

men. As a rookie, he had 10

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles (tied for sixth on the team). Against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, he posted his first career sack, while adding a quarterback pressure and 2 tackles. In

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he played in 12 games, registering 13

tackles (second on the team), 16 defensive tackles, 2 sacks and 3 quarterback pressures. He missed the last 4 games, after being placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

with a torn left anterior cruciate ligament he suffered during a practice. In

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, a season-ending back injury to Ebenezer Ekuban, allowed him to start 15 games at right defensive end, setting career-highs with 46 tackles, 3 sacks (tied for fourth on the team) and 22 quarterback pressures (second on the team). The next year, he only started 2 games and registered 29 tackles. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.

Washington Redskins

On May 11,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, he was signed as a

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 ...

by the

to a one-year contract. He recorded 14 tackles and one sack as a backup during the season.

Oakland Raiders

On August 17,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he signed with 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 ...

as a

. On August 31, he was traded to the

along with Troy Hambrick, in exchange for a sixth round draft choice (#182- Cedric Houston) in the

2005 NFL draft The 2005 NFL draft, the 70th in league history, took place on April 23 and 24, 2005 NFL season, 2005. The draft was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City and was televised for the 26th consecutive year, with coverage on E ...

Arizona Cardinals

, Zellner replaced an injured Fred Wakefield, playing in all 16 games (14 starts), while registering 35 tackles and 2 sacks. On March 10,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, he was re-signed. He was released on August 29,

Personal life

In 2002, Zellner was charged with drug possession, however, the charges were later dropped in 2003. He is a cousin of

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 ...

Tra Battle who also played for the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zellner, Peppi 1975 births Living people American football defensive ends Arizona Cardinals players Dallas Cowboys players Fort Valley State Wildcats football players Georgia Military Bulldogs football players Washington Redskins players People from Forsyth, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)