Based on last season I don't have any faith in Matt Patricia, but Zenner should have signed with Minnesota so have to hope things work out for him in Detroit. Kerryon Johnson is getting a lot of hype going into this season as a possible three down back, but should he get injured ZZ may get a chance to really shine. The way he's built up his muscle without sacrificing speed and elusiveness is very impressive.
Click the pic of Zach below to go to some of his highlights on Twitter.
Coach Patricia praises Zach Zenner for effort on and off the field
by Erik Schlitt
At his most recent training camp press conference, Coach Matt Patricia praised Zach Zenner for his efforts both on and off the field.
Heading into training camp, we at Lions Wire believed
Zenner was on the roster bubble, and that his
path to the roster would hinge on him beating out either Theo Riddick or Ty Johnson for a spot on the 53-man roster. On Saturday, it appears he has already accomplished our goal for him as the Lions felt comfortable enough with their running back depth chart to
move on from Riddick, creating a massive opportunity for Zenner.
Zenner has also looked sharp so far in training camp, and when the team dressed in pads on
Day 3 of training camp, he made the most of his opportunity. Repeatedly hitting the backside A-gap, Zenner illustrated great vision and intelligence, consistently taking advantage of a repeated flaw in the defense.
The next day at Patricia’s presser, he was asked about his impressions of Zenner so far in training camp.
“Every minute I’ve been around Zach Zenner,” Patricia said, “just love him more and more about the guy and what he does and what he’s about. Take all the stuff he does and work ethic he has off the field, I mean it’s amazing. His ability to continue to educate himself, and grow, and study, and have big picture visions, and things that he wants to aspire to as not only a football player but outside of being a football player, and his family and everything else. The utmost respect in the world for him just as a person.”
Here’s what Patricia is referring to when he says Zenner has an impressive work ethic: in the past few months alone,
Zenner has seen his family grow after welcoming his second son last May, while also
passing his MCAT (a medical school admission test), all while preparing to and participating in Lions offseason training activities.
“His work ethic,” Patricia continued, “his dedication to anything he’s trying to do – transfer that into now the game of football and it all applies. Whether it’s in the season, being prepared, being ready to go for a game – your number’s called, and you have to go perform at a high level and execution is at a high level, and you feel like you can trust him to be out there and do the job he’s supposed to do. He’s 100 percent the guy that you know is going to be prepared and ready to do that.”
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“Last year when he had the opportunity to step into those roles, I think he did a great job,” Patricia said. “I think he really kind of stepped up. This year’s a new year. We’re going to go through the process again, but I’d say from the second the season was over, and we transformed into the offseason for those guys, he’s right back at it. He’s grinding away, working at all avenues of his own physical ability, and also, both mentally – as much as he could do with football, give him the rules but also just his life outside of football. A lot of respect for him.”
Zenner has always been a fan favorite and based on Patricia’s response today, it’s obvious he has champions within the Lions organization as well.
https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2019...-zach-zenner-for-effort-on-and-off-the-field/