Zachary Lee Diles (born June 11, 1985) is a former

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

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

. He was also a member of 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 from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

, Indianapolis Colts,

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

, and the Houston Texans.

Early years

Diles attended

Tulare Union High School Tulare Union High School () is a public school for secondary education in Tulare, Tulare County, California, United States. This high school is part of the Tulare Joint Union High School District, along with Tulare Western High School and Missio ...

, but did not gain any post-season recognition in football.

College career

Diles was a two-year starter at Fresno City College in 2003 and 2004. He totaled 70 tackles in 2004 and 60 in 2003. In his two seasons the team had a 16-5 record and in 2004 Diles was named All.CVC He finished his college career at Kansas State. He did not start in 2005 at Kansas State but still finished fourth on the team with 50 tackles (27 solos), adding two sacks, a pair of quarterback pressures, 5.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and three forced fumbles. Diles earned honorable mention All-Big 12 in 2006. He ranked second on the team and eighth in the conference with 99 tackles (38 solos) while starting all 13 games at middle linebacker. He added 3.5 sacks with two pressures and was credited with 7.5 stops for losses. He recovered one fumble, deflected two passes and intercepted another. In 24 games at Kansas State, Diles started 13 contests. He produced 149 tackles (65 solos) with 5.5 sacks, 13 stops for losses and four pressures. He caused three fumbles, recovered another, knocked down two passes and had one interception.

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Houston Texans

Diles was selected in the 7th round of the 2007 NFL Draft. As a rookie in 2007 Diles played mostly on special teams. In 2008, he started 8 games as the Texans strong-side linebacker and made 66 tackles. In 2009, he moved to weakside linebacker and made 64 tackles and forced two fumbles. In 2010, he was again the starting weakside linebacker and totaled 81 tackles.

St. Louis Rams

He was signed to a free agent contract on July 29, 2011. He was released in the final cutdown after the fourth preseason game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Diles signed with the

on September 4, 2011. He was cut on December 3, 2011.

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts claimed Diles off waivers on December 6. After playing in four games for the Colts in 2011, and recording two tackles, Diles was waived on February 7, 2012.

Tennessee Titans

Diles signed with the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

on May 1, 2012.

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 12, 2013, Diles signed with the

. He was released before the season.

Second stint with Tennessee Titans

Diles signed with the

on October 17, 2013. Diles was released by the Titans on December 3, 2013.

Cleveland Browns

Diles signed a contract with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

after he worked out for them during their voluntary minicamp.

Second stint with the Houston Texans

Diles signed with the Houston Texans on October 28, 2014.

References

External links

Indianapolis Colts bioKansas State Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diles, Zac 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Abilene, Texas Sportspeople from Tulare County, California People from Tulare, California American football linebackers Cleveland Browns players St. Louis Rams players Fresno City Rams football players Kansas State Wildcats football players Houston Texans players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Indianapolis Colts players Tennessee Titans players Kansas City Chiefs players Players of American football from California Ed Block Courage Award recipients