STRENGTHS
Zack has the potential to be your starting offensive center the day after you draft him. He has excellent athletic talent to be used as a “move” center or guard. He’s able to go out to the second level with fluidity as well as being used on sweeps and screens. Zack is quick out of his stance, with the needed lateral agility to help out guards and pick up stunts easily. He is smart and anticipates stunts and where they are coming from better than most offensive linemen coming out in a draft. Zack uses excellent leverage and passion when run-blocking and likes to intimidate by quickly getting into his opponent and putting them on the ground. When pass blocking, Zack is an excellent overall technician and works hard and with pride. He shows excellent leadership skills and a high football IQ through his play on the field. Zack is a plug-and-play center and when you find a center like Zack, with his athleticism, size, and high football IQ, I suggest you draft him early.
CONCERNS
Zack admits that he’d rather run block than pass block. In the film against Texas, he seemed to get frustrated when pass-blocking with those big-nose tackles that played over him at times. Zack is an aggressive/attacking kind of offensive lineman. He wants to bring the fight to his opponent, and pass blocking is more of a reactive style of blocking rather than an attacking style of blocking. Nevertheless, Zack does what is needed of him to protect his QB when pass-blocking. All he has to do is correct some footwork off the snap and he can return to his aggressive nature when pass blocking.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.86
As I stated in the concerns, Zack does struggle pass blocking with a player right over him. With his wrestling background and athleticism, this is a bit of a surprise. The reason is, he lacks confidence and hesitates off the snap. He hesitates because he is not sure what move that big old nose tackle will use to defeat him and loses leverage. Most of his problem is in his footwork off the snap of the ball when pass-blocking. For an athletic player like Zack who has his, quick feet and lateral agility, this is an issue that can be corrected quickly with the needed repetition in practice. As soon as he learns the position needed of his feet after the snap, he can become more aggressive, especially after an opponent’s first move. Once he masters the footwork, I believe his passion to pass block will equal his passion to run block.
