Zachary Allen Wiegert (born August 16, 1972) is a former American college and professional football player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and offensive tackle 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) for twelve seasons. He played college football for the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

, earned All-American honors, and was a member of a national championship team. A second-round pick in the 1995 NFL Draft, he played professionally for 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 ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...

and Houston Texans of the NFL.

Early years

Wiegert was born in

Fremont, Nebraska Fremont is a city and county seat of Dodge County in the eastern portion of the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. The population was 27,141 at the 2020 census. Fremont is the home of Midland University. History From the 1830 ...

.databaseFootball.com, Players
Zach Wiegert
. Retrieved February 5, 2012. He attended Archbishop Bergan High School in Fremont, and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Bergan Knights.

College career

Wiegert attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he played for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, ...

team from 1991 to 1994. From his sophomore through senior seasons, he started 37 consecutive games at right tackle. In his 46-game Cornhuskers career, Wiegert gave up just one quarterback sack while earning first-team All- Big Eight Conference honors in 1992, 1993 and 1994. He earned second-team All-America honors in 1993, helping lead Nebraska to an undefeated regular season and an Orange Bowl appearance. As a senior in 1994, he was the winner of the

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Am ...

, awarded to the nation's top interior lineman, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American. Wiegert blocked for a Cornhuskers offense that led the NCAA in rushing yards for the eleventh time, averaging 340 yards per game on the ground, and Nebraska won its first national football championship since 1971. He was also the UPI Lineman of the Year, the

Touchdown Club of Columbus The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More th ...

Offensive Lineman of the Year, a finalist for the

Lombardi Award The Rotary Lombardi Award is an award for college football in the United States. Awarded by the Rotary Club of Houston, Texas annually to the college football player "who best embodies the values and spirit of NFL's legendary coach Vince Lomba ...

, and finished 10th in the

Heisman The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...

voting. The university retired his No. 72 jersey before the 1995 season.

Professional career

St. Louis Rams

The

selected Wiegert in the second round (38th pick overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft. He played with the Rams from to .National Football League, Historical Players
Zach Wiegert
Retrieved February 5, 2012. As a rookie in 1995, he played in five games and started two;Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players

Retrieved February 5, 2012. he was inactive for the first seven games with a left ankle injury suffered in final preseason game. In , he started all 16 regular season games at right tackle. The following year, under new coach

Dick Vermiel Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lo ...

, Wiegert moved to right guard and started 15 of 16 regular season games. He caught a one-yard pass to give the Rams a first down on a game-winning drive that resulted in

Jeff Wilkins Jeffrey Allen Wilkins (born April 19, 1972), nicknamed "Money", is a former American football placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles and St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL). With the Rams, he won Super Bo ...

' 25-yard field goal with four seconds remaining at Washington (11/30/1997). He also scored a touchdown after recovering Jerald Moore's fumble in the end zone at Carolina (12/20/1997). He was granted free agency on February 13, 1998, and re-signed with Rams on June 17, 1998. In 1998, he started 13 games at right guard for St. Louis. He missed three games with a knee injury. He was designated by the Rams as a transition player on February 12, 1999, and was re-signed by the Rams on March 24, 1999. He was released on April 28, 1999, after had become expendable since the Rams had signed

Adam Timmerman Adam Larry Timmerman (born August 14, 1971) is a former American football guard in the National Football League, and Super Bowl champion for the St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers. He played for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams betw ...

to play right guard.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Wiegert played four seasons with the

from to . He signed as a free agent May 5, 1999, with the Jaguars in 1999. That season, he played in 16 games with 12 starts at right guard for 14-2 Jaguars. In 2000, he started eight games at right tackle before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in left knee. He had allowed only four sacks in eight games. He was placed on injured reserve on October 14, 2000. In 2001, he came back from injury to start all 16 games at right guard, the first time he had been able to do so since 1996. Wiegert played and started in seven games in 2002 before being placed on injured reserve on 11/6/2002. He made his first NFL start at left tackle versus Indianapolis and started four more games at left tackle before starting two games at right tackle. He was granted unconditional free agency on February 28, 2003.

Houston Texans

He played for the Houston Texans from to . He signed by Texans on March 1, 2003. In 2003, he played in 15 games, starting 14 at right guard. In 2005, he started 12 games (five at right guard, seven at right tackle). The following season, 2006, he played in and started nine games at right tackle. On February 28, 2007, the Texans released Wiegert.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiegert, Zach 1972 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive guards Houston Texans players Jacksonville Jaguars players Nebraska Cornhuskers football players People from Fremont, Nebraska St. Louis Rams players