Zack Follett

Zack Follett

American football player standing with arms akimbo, in gold jersey (#56) and dark blue pants, wearing a dark blue helmet

Follett in August 2008
Position: Linebacker
Personal information
Date of birth: (1987-07-03) July 3, 1987
Place of birth: Clovis, California
Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight: 236 lb (107 kg)
Career information
College: California
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 7 / Pick: 235
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • Second-Team All-Pac-10 (2007)
  • First-Team All-Pac-10 (2008)
  • 2008 Emerald Bowl Defensive MVP
Career NFL statistics as of Week 6, 2010
Tackles: 31
Sacks: 0
INTs: 0
Player stats at NFL.com

Zachary "Zack" Follett (born July 3, 1987, in Clovis, California) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at California.

College career

Follett began his career in football at California as a middle linebacker. He switched over to weak-side linebacker as a sophomore and then eventually to strong-side linebacker as a junior. He started 24 of 49 games over the course of his career and finished 10th on California's tackle list with 245. He set a school record and tied the Pac-10 Conference record for forced fumbles with 13. He finished fifth at California in stops behind the line of scrimmage with 51.0. Included in that total were 23.5 sacks which put him in sixth place on the school's career sacks list.

Follett represented California at the 2009 Senior Bowl.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

Follett was drafted 235th overall in the 7th round by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL Draft. Follett was released by the Lions during the preseason cuts on September 5, 2009. A day later, he was signed to the team's practice squad. He was activated from the practice squad on October 6, 2009 to help on special teams and made his NFL debut against the Pittsburgh Steelers. His first NFL tackle was on Danny Amendola of the St. Louis Rams, which was named hit of the week by the NFL Network.

On October 17, 2010, Follett was injured while covering a kickoff return against the New York Giants and had to be removed from the field. After the game the team released a statement saying "There is no evidence at this point of a fracture of the cervical spine. He has movement in all four extremities. Zack will remain here tonight and will continue to undergo extensive tests and evaluation." [1] Follett was placed on injured reserve, ending his season.[2]

On August 2, 2011, Follett was released by the Lions.

Post-retirement career

On November 7, 2011, Follett joined the Channel 4 broadcast team in London for its Sunday night coverage of the NFL. He was in England for a brief visit to preach as part of a Christian mission and to work with youths and to publicize American Football. For the next two Sundays he joined the Sky Sports broadcast team for its coverage of the NFL.

Zack joined the Sky Sports broadcast team again January 7–8, 2012 for its coverage of the NFL Wild Card Weekend.

Personal

Zack is the son of Naomi and Bob Follett. He graduated with a major in American Studies.

Zack's dog, a Shiba Inu named Zakarian, has been featured on Animal Planet Dogs 101.

Zack currently resides in Fresno, California.

References

  1. Follett Taken to Local Hospital for Evaluation Detroit Lions Official Site October 17, 2010
  2. "Lions LB Follett placed on season-ending injured reserve". NFL.com. 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-12-23.

External links

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