Kilian Zierer (born February 24, 2000) is a German professional American football

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

of the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the College of the Canyons Cougars and

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

Early life

Zierer was born on February 24, 2000, in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. He played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

growing up before first watching American football on a visit to the U.S. at age 15. He decided to try out the sport at age 16, joining the Munich Cowboys and playing two seasons for their under-19 squad as a tight end and wide receiver. He then moved to the offensive line and played a season with the Allgäu Comets.

College career

After being offered an opportunity, Zierer choose to play

in the U.S. for the College of the Canyons Cougars in 2018. In his first year, he was named all-conference at left tackle and helped the Cougars compile a record of 10–0 while being the champions of the SCFA National Division, Northern League. He became highly recruited afterwards and was ranked the best

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

recruit at his position by Rivals.com. He repeated as a all-conference left tackle and helped the Cougars win a second straight SCFA National Division, Northern League title. Zierer committed to the

. He had suffered a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

towards the end of his second junior college season which resulted in him sitting out the 2020 season with Auburn. He began the 2021 season as a backup but eventually saw action as a starter. He ended the season with nine games played. He then started all 12 games as a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 2022. He was invited to the

2023 East–West Shrine Bowl The 2023 East–West Shrine Bowl was the 98th edition of the all–star college football exhibition to benefit Shriners Hospital for Children. The game was played at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, on February 2, 2023, starting at 5:30&nbs ...

Professional career

After going unselected in the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

, Zierer signed with the

as an undrafted free agent. He was also selected in the second round (11th overall) of the

2023 CFL global draft The 2023 CFL Global Draft was a selection of non-Canadian and non-American players by Canadian Football League (CFL) teams that took place on May 2, 2023. It was the third CFL Draft that pooled all of the global players together after previously ...

by the Edmonton Elks. Although he performed well in training camp for the Texans, he suffered a sprained ankle in preseason and was placed on season-ending

injured reserve 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 th ...

on August 24, 2023. On April 18, 2024, Zierer was designated as the Texans' exempt/international player for the 2024 season as part of the International Player Pathway Program (IPPP). He was waived on August 27, and re-signed to the practice squad.

Notes

References

External links

College of the Canyons Cougars bioAuburn Tigers bioHouston Texans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zierer, Kilian 2000 births Living people American football offensive tackles German players of American football Sportspeople from Munich College of the Canyons Cougars football players Auburn Tigers football players Houston Texans players