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Published on 04/20/1998 All articles from this issue

St. Francis grad Walz drafted by NFL

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

Someone out there - probably in Los Altos - may still own Zack Walz's first football helmet. Whoever you are, you might want to hold on to it. That helmet could be worth something one day.

Walz, a St. Francis High graduate who grew up in Los Altos, was drafted by the NFL's Arizona Cardinals April 19.

Walz has dreamed of playing pro football since his youth. His parents, Sharon and Wayne, have shared this dream. When Sharon sold Zack's 49ers helmet at a garage sale nearly 10 years ago, she told the local buyers - a 4-year-old boy and his mother - it could be valuable one day.

That day may be near.

Walz, a linebacker from Dartmouth College, came a step closer to realizing his dream when the Cardinals selected him in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.

"I'm real excited," Walz said. "I couldn't be happier. I have a chance to make an NFL team and play pretty close to home."

Sixth-round picks don't always make the pros, but the Cardinals seem eager to give Walz every opportunity to make their club. Arizona linebacker coach Glenn Pires said Walz could even compete for the vacant starting job at right outside linebacker.

Pires played a major role in the Cardinals' decision to draft Walz. Pires was an assistant at Dartmouth in the 1980s, where he worked under defensive coordinator John Lyons, now the school's head coach. Lyons had nothing but glowing things to say about Walz last winter when Pires inquired about the All-Ivy League performer.

Walz further impressed the Cardinals - and several other NFL teams - at February's NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The combine is an annual showcase for the top 300 draft-eligible players. They are weighed, measured, put through a variety of drills and interviewed by representatives from all 30 NFL teams.

"The combine really helped Zack," Pires said. "He went through the drills very well and did everything at full-speed."

It seems full-speed is the only speed Walz knows.

"I always try to go all-out," Walz said. "I don't have much concern for my body and I play really aggressive."

Pires noticed these traits when he watched game film of Walz.

"What stood out most is that he plays with a lot of emotion and he has a high motor," Pires said. "He's a very physical player who takes on blockers and makes plays all over the field."

Some NFL teams may have shied away from Walz because of his size - he played at 210 pounds last season - but that didn't concern Pires.

"At 6-foot-4, he has the potential to get bigger. He has the frame," the coach said. "He's a hard worker who will do what it takes to get stronger."

Realizing that size matters in the NFL, Walz has been adding bulk since the season ended.

"I'm almost 235 pounds," Walz said. "I eat five or six meals a day and work out a lot."

Putting on pounds isn't new to Walz. He weighed just 180 pounds as a freshman, and Lyons nicknamed him "The Blade" - as in a blade of grass.

That nickname has since faded, much to Walz's relief.

"No one calls me that," Walz said. "I hope the Cardinals don't hear about it because the veterans are really going to haze me."

Walz will get his first taste of NFL life this weekend. The Cardinals will fly him out to Phoenix for the team's first rookie mini-camp of the year.

"I'm itching to get there," said Walz, who will graduate in June with a degree in government.

With the season set to start August 30, Walz has four months to prove to the Cardinals he belongs in the NFL. And if he makes it, Sharon promises not to sell his helmet this time.