Zachary Zenner (born September 13, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at South Dakota State. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Lions in 2015. Zenner also played for the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins.
Early years
Zenner attended Eagan High School in Eagan, Minnesota. While at Eagan High School, he played for the football team. As a senior in 2009, he was a finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Football Award after posting an average of 8.9 yards per carry, along with 1,181 rushing yards, 122 receiving yards, and 17 total touchdowns. He earned All-Metro Honors, and Academic All-State on several teams. In addition, Zenner was a member of the state tournament qualifying Eagan baseball team in 2009. In 2010, Zenner led the team in batting average, posting a batting average of .537. He led the team in stolen bases as well.
College career
Zenner attended South Dakota State University from 2010 to 2014. South Dakota State was the only Division I program to offer Zenner a scholarship. During this time, he was a member of the South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team, wearing the #31 jersey. After his redshirt year, he began to take on his role with the team, including working on returning kicks, with positive growth and success. His 2012 campaign was a breakout year, highlighted in the first game against the Kansas Jayhawks with a 99-yard touchdown run. Zenner rushed for at least 2,000 yards during each of the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons. He finished his college career with 8,211 all-purpose yards and 69 total touchdowns.
Professional career
Coming out of college, many analysts had Zenner projected to be drafted in the fifth or sixth round. He was rated as the second best fullback in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.
Detroit Lions
After Zenner went undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Detroit Lions. On May 2, 2015, the Detroit Lions signed him to a three-year, $1.58 million contract with a $5,000 signing bonus.
Zenner entered training camp competing for the fourth running back on the Lions' depth chart with George Winn. Zenner ultimately won the position, leading the NFL in rushing yards during the preseason, and went into the regular season as the backup behind Joique Bell, Theo Riddick, and Ameer Abdullah.
Zenner made his professional regular season debut in the Lions' season opener at the San Diego Chargers, finishing with two carries for six rushing yards. On October 5, 2015, he carried the ball twice for nine yards and made his first career reception on a four-yard pass from Matt Stafford during a 10–13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The following week, Zenner earned his first career start and had a season-high ten carries for 30 rushing yards against the Arizona Cardinals. On October 18, 2015, Zenner had three rushing attempts for nine rushing yards during a 34–37 overtime victory over the Chicago Bears. He left during the game after he suffered an apparent injury to his chest. It was later revealed he had suffered multiple fractured ribs and a collapsed lung. On October 30, 2015, the Detroit Lions placed him on injured-reserve for the remainder of his rookie season.