Zach Line (born April 26, 1990) 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 with ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

who played seven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2013. 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 ...

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

Early years

Line attended Oxford High School in

Oxford, Michigan Oxford is a village in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,436 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. The village is located within Oxford Charter Township, Michigan, Oxford Towns ...

. As a senior, he had a team-high 154

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking up ...

with eight

forced fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

and four recoveries from the

inside 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, p ...

spot; on offense, he rushed for 1,723 yards with 17

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

while also throwing for three more scores. For his season efforts, he was named a first Team All-State pick. Regarded as a two-star recruit by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Line committed to SMU on January 29, 2008. He also received a scholarship offer from

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the mericanrevolution." It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 b ...

. Line has two brothers, Prescott and Ben, that played at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and Robert Morris University, respectively.

College career

Line attended and played college football at SMU from 2009–2012. In the 2009 season, he finished with 49 carries for 189 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. In the 2010 season, he finished with 244 carries for 1,494 rushing yards and ten rushing touchdowns. In the 2011 season, he finished with 208 carries for 1,224 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns. In the 2012 season, his final collegiate season, he finished with 277 carries for 1,278 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.

Collegiate statistics

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

On April 27, 2013, Line signed with the

as an

following the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. In the Vikings' first preseason game against 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 ...

, he scored on a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback

Matt Cassel Matthew Brennan Cassel (born May 17, 1982) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. A member of seven NFL teams, Cassel's most notable stints were with the New England Patriots an ...

. In the season opener against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, he had one reception for eight yards in his NFL debut. He appeared in two other games in the 2013 season. Line was released by the team on September 14, 2014, re-signed to the practice squad shortly after, then was promoted to the active roster on October 3. On September 20, 2015, Line scored the first touchdown of his career against the

. The next week, against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, Line scored another touchdown, the second of his career. Line also caught a pass from quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school. Br ...

and took it 49 yards to set up a score in Minnesota's 28–19 victory over the Detroit Lions in Week 7. Overall, in the 2015 season, he finished with six carries for ten rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with six receptions for 95 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown. In the 2016 season, he finished with seven carries for 15 rushing yards in 15 games.

New Orleans Saints

On August 24, 2017, Line signed with the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He was released on September 2, 2017. He was re-signed on October 3, 2017. In 12 games, he finished with seven carries for 28 rushing yards to go along with two receptions for eight yards and a receiving touchdown. The Saints made the playoffs and faced off against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

in the

Wild Card Round A wild card (also wildcard or wild-card and also known as an at-large berth or at-large bid) is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that fails to qualify in the normal way; for example, by having a high ranking or winnin ...

. In the 31–26 victory, he had a one-yard rushing touchdown. Line and the Saints' season ended in the Divisional Round in a 29–24 loss to the

. On April 5, 2018, Line re-signed with the Saints on a two-year contract. In Week 3 against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

, Line scored his first touchdown on the season. He finished the 2018 season with nine carries for 41 rushing yards to go along with five receptions for 14 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. In the 2019 season, Line appeared in 12 games and recorded seven carries for 20 rushing yards to go along with six receptions for 36 receiving yards. On January 15, 2020, Line announced his retirement from the NFL via Instagram after seven seasons at the age of 29. Line scored 6

in his NFL career, two rushing and four receiving. He rushed 36 times for 114 yards, and had 20 catches for 161 yards. Line was a core special teams player as well, returning five kickoffs for 59 yards and making seven special teams tackles over the span of his career.

Personal life

As of 2021, Line worked at his former high school, Oxford High School, as head football coach.

References

External links

SMU Mustangs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Line, Zach 1990 births Living people American football fullbacks Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players People from Oxford, Michigan Players of American football from Michigan SMU Mustangs football players