Paul Zukauskas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Paul Malcolm Zukauskas (born July 12, 1979) 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 ...
player. 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 ...
at
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
. He was drafted in the seventh round by 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 ( ...
in
2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...
and played for the Browns from 2001 to 2004.


Early life and charity work

Born Paul Malcolm Zukauskas, the son of Anne Marie and Thomas Zukauskas on July 12, 1979, he earned all-state and all-conference honors as a senior tackle at
Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...
. He earned All-America honors from Prep Star and USA Today. He made 40 tackles as a senior and served as team captain. He played in the 1997 Massachusetts Shriners Football Classic. During his time in the NFL he donated his time to various non-profit organizations, including building a home for Habitat For Humanity, building a playground for the United Way’s Hometown Huddle program, visiting children at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital and distributing turkeys to Cleveland residents during the holidays. After the death of his mother in 2003, Zukauskas, his father Tom and brother Tom Jr. started a charity, The Anne Marie Zukauskas Fund, which helps provide support to students in need within the
Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...
, public school system. The fund also assists Broad Meadows Middle School, the former school that his mother was the principal of, with special projects. Zukauskas also serves on the Board of Directors for Project DEEP. Project DEEP is a nonprofit educational program, which operates through collaborations with Boston for Youth & Families and Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and charitable institutions like The Boston Foundation. The mission of the program is to foster the educational, athletic and social growth and development of middle school children of all races, creeds and ethnic backgrounds throughout the Dorchester community.


College career

He was a four-year starter who became the first freshman in over 20 years to start on the Boston College offensive line in 1997. As a junior, he was named All-Big East Conference second-team selection in 1999. As a senior, he was named All-Big East Conference first-team selection and first-team All-America selection by the American Football Coaches Association, Rivals.com and second-team All-American selection by the Walter Camp Football Foundation and The Sporting News in 2000. In 2016, Zukauskas was inducted into the Boston College Hall of Fame.


Professional career


2001

As a rookie with Browns, he was on the practice squad for the first 9 weeks. He was then signed to the active roster on November 21, and appeared in one game. Made his NFL debut by playing on special teams against 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 h ...
on December 30.


2002

In his second year he participated in all 16 regular season games as the Browns backup right offensive guard and also played on special teams. Made three starting assignments at right guard early in the season as starting center
Dave Wohlabaugh David Vincent Wohlabaugh (born April 13, 1972) is a former American football center who played nine seasons for three National Football League (NFL) teams. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL Draft. He started in Super Bowl XXX ...
broke his hand and the starting right guard,
Shaun O'Hara Shaun O'Hara (born June 23, 1977) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for Rutgers University. He began his professional career by signing as an un ...
moved to center. He made his first career start vs. the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
on Sept. 15. He appeared on special teams and also lined up as tackle eligible in goal line running situations in the AFC wild card game vs. the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
on January 5.


2003

He was in 12 games, 10 of the games were starts at right guard. In the beginning of the season he was the backup right guard to starter
Shaun O'Hara Shaun O'Hara (born June 23, 1977) is a former American football center who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for Rutgers University. He began his professional career by signing as an un ...
. He moved into the starting lineup beginning Week 4 vs. the
Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...
on September 28, as Zukauskas started at RG and O'Hara moved over to left guard. Then he started eight consecutive weeks at right guard before missing two weeks due to the death of his mother, Anne Marie. Moved back into the starting lineup at right guard vs. the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...
on December 14, and vs. the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
on December 21. Inactive the final week of the season due to a knee injury.


2004

He appeared in 14 games and 5 of the games were starts at left guard. He started the season as the starting left guard. He was injured in Week 2 vs. the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
and took on a backup role after week 5
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
. He played considerable time later in the season vs.
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
and vs. 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 ...
.


2005

He signed with the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
and injured his back during the second week of training camp. He then was released at the end of camp. He did not play the rest of season due to injury.


2006

He retired in March 2006.


Coaching career


2009–2011

As a graduate assistant at Boston College, he was part of the football coaching staff that guided the team to two postseason bowl appearances. Zukauskas worked on the defensive side of the ball with the linebackers unit and helped coach
Luke Kuechly Luke August Kuechly (; born April 20, 1991) is an American former professional football middle linebacker who played all eight seasons of his career with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He is generally recognized a ...
and
Mark Herzlich Mark Herzlich Jr. (born September 1, 1987) is a former American football linebacker and current sports commentator. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2011 and played all seven seasons of his professional career w ...
. The BC defense ranked no. 1 in the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
(ACC) in total defense and no. 1 nationally in run defense in 2010.


2011–2017

Zukauskas served as the head coach of the Lawrence Academy's Spartans football team. He is a member of the American Football Coaches Association along with serving as an NFL ambassador to the "Heads Up" football initiative, and is an advisor to the Football Players Health Study at
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
for former NFL players. In 2014, the Lawrence Academy football team won the ISL and NEPSAC championships and also won the ISL Sportsmanship Award, awarded to the team that, in the eyes of its opponents, best exemplifies the ideals of Integrity, Sportsmanship, and Fair Play. Under the leadership of Zukauskas, the Spartans won the ISL championships in 2015, 2016, 2017 as well; and rounded off the 2017 season with a NEPSAC championship.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zukauskas, Paul 1979 births Living people American football offensive guards American people of Lithuanian descent Boston College Eagles football players Boston College High School alumni Cleveland Browns players Players of American football from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Weymouth, Massachusetts