Zack Sanchez (born October 11, 1993) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

. 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 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Early years

Sanchez attended Central High School in

Keller, Texas Keller is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 45,776, making Keller the List of municipalities in Texas, 71st most populated cit ...

. He originally committed to

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

to play college football, but changed his choice to the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

College career

After redshirting his freshman year at Oklahoma in 2012, Sanchez became a starter in 2013. He remained a starter throughout his career, finishing with 37 career starts. For his career he recorded 134 tackles, 15

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

and three

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 ...

. After his junior year, Sanchez entered the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Sanchez was selected in the fifth round, 141st overall, by 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

. On September 3, 2016, he was waived by the Panthers as part of final roster cuts and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 7, 2016. He was placed on injured reserve on November 25, 2016 with a groin injury. On September 1, 2017, Sanchez was waived/injured by the Panthers and placed on injured reserve. He was released on September 7, 2017. He was re-signed to the Panthers' practice squad on October 17, 2017. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Panthers on January 8, 2018. On May 14, 2018, Sanchez was waived by the Panthers.

San Antonio Commanders

On October 12, 2018, Sanchez signed with the

San Antonio Commanders The San Antonio Commanders were a professional American football franchise based in San Antonio, Texas, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019. The team played their home ga ...

of the

AAF AAF may refer to: Aviation * Aigle Azur (ICAO code), a French airline * Apalachicola Regional Airport (IATA code), in Apalachicola, Florida Corporations * American Air Filter, today a part of HVAC-equipment-maker Daikin Military * Albanian Arm ...

. In the season opener against the

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

, Sanchez picked off a Philip Nelson pass in the endzone to seal the victory for the Commanders. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Sanchez signed with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

on March 3, 2020. He was released on July 3, 2021.

Personal life

Sanchez's mother is of Mexican heritage.

References

External links

Oklahoma Sooners bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanchez, Zack 1993 births Living people Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas American football cornerbacks Oklahoma Sooners football players Carolina Panthers players San Antonio Commanders players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Saskatchewan Roughriders players