Zachary Allen Wiegert (born August 16, 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

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive (military), type of military operation * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...

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 twelve seasons. 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

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

, earned

unanimous All-American The College Football All-America Team is an honorific college football all-star team compiled after each NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season to recognize that season's most outstanding performers at their respective positions. ...

honors, and was a member of a national championship team. A second-round pick in 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 ...

, he played professionally for the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

of the NFL.

Early life

Wiegert was born in

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Dodge County, Nebraska, Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it t ...

.databaseFootball.com, Players, . Retrieved February 5, 2012. He attended

Archbishop Bergan High School Archbishop Bergan High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Fremont, Nebraska, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha. Background Archbishop Bergan High School was established in 1950 as St. Patric ...

in Fremont, and played

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 ...

for the Bergan Knights.

College career

Wiegert attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he played for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska has played its home games at Memorial Stadium (Linc ...

team from 1991 to 1994. From his sophomore through senior seasons, he started 37 consecutive games at right tackle. In his 46-game Cornhuskers career, Wiegert gave up just one quarterback sack while earning first-team All-

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...

honors in 1992, 1993 and 1994. He earned second-team All-America honors in 1993, helping lead Nebraska to an undefeated regular season and an Orange Bowl appearance. As a senior in 1994, he was the winner of the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best 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 g ...

, awarded to the nation's top interior lineman, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. Wiegert blocked for a Cornhuskers offense that led the NCAA in rushing yards for the eleventh time, averaging 340 yards per game on the ground, and Nebraska won its first national football championship since 1971. He was also the

UPI Lineman of the Year The United Press International Lineman of the Year award was given annually by United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided ...

, the

Touchdown Club of Columbus The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More ...

Offensive Lineman of the Year, a finalist for the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lombard ...

, and finished 10th in the

Heisman 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 ...

voting. The university retired his No. 72 jersey before the 1995 season.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

The

selected Wiegert in the second round (38th pick overall) of the

. He played with the Rams from to .National Football League, Historical Players
Zach Wiegert
Retrieved February 5, 2012. As a rookie in 1995, he played in five games and started two; he was inactive for the first seven games with a left ankle injury suffered in final preseason game. In , he started all 16 regular season games at right tackle. The following year, under new coach Dick Vermiel, Wiegert moved to right guard and started 15 of 16 regular season games. He caught a one-yard pass to give the Rams a first down on a game-winning drive that resulted in

Jeff Wilkins Jeffrey Allen Wilkins (born April 19, 1972), nicknamed "Money", is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles and the St. Louis Rams of the National Football Leagu ...

' 25-yard field goal with four seconds remaining at Washington (11/30/1997). He also scored a touchdown after recovering Jerald Moore's fumble in the end zone at Carolina (12/20/1997). He was granted free agency on February 13, 1998, and re-signed with Rams on June 17, 1998. In 1998, he started 13 games at right guard for St. Louis. He missed three games with a knee injury. He was designated by the Rams as a transition player on February 12, 1999, and was re-signed by the Rams on March 24, 1999. He was released on April 28, 1999, after had become expendable since the Rams had signed

Adam Timmerman Adam Larry Timmerman (born August 14, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL). He was a Super Bowl champion for the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers. He played for Green ...

to play right guard.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Wiegert played four seasons with the

from to . He signed as a free agent May 5, 1999, with the Jaguars in 1999. That season, he played in 16 games with 12 starts at right guard for the 14–2 Jaguars. In 2000, he started eight games at right tackle before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in left knee. He had allowed only four sacks in eight games. He was placed on injured reserve on October 14, 2000. In 2001, he came back from injury to start all 16 games at right guard, the first time he had been able to do so since 1996. Wiegert played and started in seven games in 2002 before being placed on injured reserve on 11/6/2002. He made his first NFL start at left tackle versus Indianapolis and started four more games at left tackle before starting two games at right tackle. He was granted unconditional free agency on February 28, 2003.

Houston Texans

He played for the

from to . He signed by Texans on March 1, 2003. In 2003, he played in 15 games, starting 14 at right guard. In 2005, he started 12 games (five at right guard, seven at right tackle). The following season, 2006, he played in and started nine games at right tackle. On February 28, 2007, the Texans released Wiegert.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegert, Zach 1972 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Jacksonville Jaguars players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players People from Fremont, Nebraska St. Louis Rams players College Football Hall of Fame inductees