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It takes a special athlete, says NU Offensive Line Coach Milt Tenopir, to switch back and forth from the left side of the offensive line to the right side, from tackle to guard and back.
Zach Wiegert, the coach says, is one of those special athletes.
"Zach has a great head for football, and he was always a guy who could adapt," Tenopir said. "Zach was one of the best we had."
World-Herald readers voted the three-time All-Big Eight selection and consensus first-team All-American as No. 17 on the list of the 50 greatest NU players of the century.
Recruited out of Fremont Bergan High School, Wiegert surrendered just one sack during 36 consecutive starts for NU. His senior season, he and his teammates on the offensive line helped lead Nebraska to its 11th NCAA rushing title, averaging 340 yards per game. He was a co-captain on Nebraska's 1994 national championship team.
"Zach was one of the standouts, and he was among a group of guys I'll always hold dear to my heart because of what they did and the effort they gave," Tenopir said. "There's nothing finesse about Zach. He'll come off the ball and want to smack you on every play."
Wiegert, the 1994 Outland Trophy winner, stayed at right tackle during his career at NU, but his versatility has been a hallmark of his NFL career.
St. Louis selected Wiegert in the second round of the 1995 draft, the 38th pick overall. Wiegert started at right guard, left guard or right tackle in 46 of 49 games during four seasons with the Rams. In 1997, he committed the fewest penalties (three) among the Rams' starting offensive linemen, caught a tipped pass for 1 yard and scored his first career touchdown by recovering a fumble in the end zone against the Carolina Panthers.
He signed as a free agent with Jacksonville earlier this year, and now the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder starts at right guard for the Jaguars.
Tenopir said Wiegert has the right disposition to be a great offensive lineman because he never lets anything bother him.
"He was a free spirit, a guy who might get beat one time but shrugged it off and didn't let it carry over to the next play," Tenopir said. "Zach never made a lot of errors. He kept playing hard and had great athleticism for as big a guy as he is."
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