Zachary John Mesday (born October 25, 1994) is an

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 ...

rookie free agent

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

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 ...

from

Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Hamilton Township is a township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It is the largest suburb of Trenton, the state's capital, which is located to the township's west. The township is within the New York metropolitan area as defined ...

who 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

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, where he originally walked-on and eventually earned a sixth year of eligibility and scholarship as a graduate student.

Early years

Mesday was a defensive end, tight end and fullback at

Nottingham High School , motto_translation = Praise to the end , address = Waverley Mount , city = Nottingham , county = Nottinghamshire , postcode = NG7 4ED , country = England , coordinates = , type = Independent day school , established = , closed = , religious ...

in Hamilton Township, where he was a member of the 2012 Central Jersey Group III state title-winning team. He earned third-team All-State, first-team All-State Group III, first-team All South Jersey, first-team all-conference (7A)/county, New Jersey Super 100 All-State Team, conference lineman of the year, and four-time player of the week for Mercer County in his senior year. That season he recorded 106 tackles, 19.5 sacks, two interceptions, and six forced fumbles. After receiving "a few D-II and I-AA offers but nothing with a full scholarship," he prepped a year and switched positions to linebacker as a

postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

at the Canterbury School in

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...

College years

Mesday went to Temple as a preferred-walk-on with a chance to compete for a scholarship in 2014 and redshirted as a true freshman. In 2015 and 2016 he redshirted while recovering from knee surgeries. From 2014 to 2018 he was awarded named Athletic Director's Honor Roll five times. He saw his game first action in 2017. As a graduate in 2018 he finished third on the team in tackles for loss (8.0) and was named American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. He was granted a sixth year of eligibility and as a graduate in 2019 he was named William Campbell Trophy semifinalist and to the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

Good Works Team Watch List. In 2020, Mesday was named to the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Hampshire Honor Society, to which players are named for maintaining a cumulative 3.2 GPA or better throughout their college careers.

Career stats

References

External links

Temple Owls Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mesday, Zack 1994 births Living people American football linebackers Canterbury School (Connecticut) alumni People from Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Mercer County, New Jersey Players of American football from Trenton, New Jersey