Zachary Christian Walz (born February 13, 1976) is a former professional

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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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 drafted with the 5th pick of the 6th round and played four seasons for the Arizona Cardinals. He was named as the starting outside linebacker his second and third years before season ending injuries cut both seasons and ultimately his career, short. Walz was a 3-year starter at Dartmouth, a 3-time Unanimous 1st Team All-Ivy Selection, Team Captain and currently sits third all time for tackles in a career with 356. He attended Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, California. He currently resides in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

with his wife, Annette and kids. Walz had a close relationship with Cardinals teammate and future army member

Pat Tillman Patrick Daniel Tillman Jr. (November6, 1976– April22, 2004) was an American professional American football, football player for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) who left his sports career and enlisted in the United ...

. They both grew up playing high school football in Northern California where they would eventually play against each other in a senior all star game. Pat and Zack were drafted one round apart in 1998. They were roommates during their time together with the Arizona Cardinals. During his rookie year, Walz didn't bring the veterans breakfast as instructed and was subsequently taped to a goal post. Tillman saw this, grabbed scissors, walked outside, and despite being told by veterans not to help, he cut Walz down. This story was the subject of commentary by Coach Dave McGinnis in “Pat Tillman: A Football Life”

References

1976 births Living people American football linebackers Arizona Cardinals players Dartmouth Big Green football players Players of American football from Mountain View, California 20th-century American sportsmen {{Linebacker-1970s-stub