Zach Wood
 Wood withSMUin 2015 | |||||
| No. 49 –New Orleans Saints | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Long snapper | ||||
| Personal information | |||||
| Born: | January 10, 1993 Dallas, Texas,U.S. | ||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||
| Weight: | 255 lb (116 kg) | ||||
| Career information | |||||
| High school: | Rowlett(Rowlett, Texas) | ||||
| College: | SMU(2011–2015) | ||||
| Undrafted: | 2016 | ||||
| Career history | |||||
| |||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||
| |||||
Zach Wood(born January 10, 1993) is an American professionalfootballlong snapperfor theNew Orleans Saintsof theNational Football League(NFL). He playedcollege footballatSMU.He has also been a member of theDallas Cowboys.
Early life
[edit]Wood attendedRowlett High SchoolinRowlett, Texas,where he playeddefensive tackle.As a junior, he recorded 99tackles,32tackles for lossand 8sacks.[1]He posted 115 tackles and 10 sacks his senior season, earning honorable-mention Class 4A All-State as adefensive lineman.[1][2]
College career
[edit]Wood accepted a football scholarship fromSouthern Methodist University.He wasredshirtedin 2011.[1]He played in nine games in 2012, tallying five solo tackles, four tackle assists and half a sack.
He played in 12 games, all starts as a3–4defensive end,in 2013, making 25 solo tackles, 24 tackle assists, one sack, onepass breakup,two forcedfumbles,one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.
Wood appeared in 12 games, all starts as a 3–4 defensive end, in 2014, registering 18 solo tackles, 22 tackle assists, 4 sacks and 1 fumble recovery.[3]
He played in 10 games with 9 starts in 2015 and was ateam captain.He recorded 29 solo tackles, 10 tackle assists, 3.5 sacks, 2 pass breakups and 3 blocked kicks.[4][5]Wood also spent time atlong snapperin college.[6][7][8]He finished his college career with 33-of-43 starts, 137 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 3 blocked kicks.
Professional career
[edit]Pre-draft
[edit]Wood was rated the 85th best defensive end in the2016 NFL draftby NFLDraftScout.com.[9]
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft2+7⁄8in (1.90 m) |
282 lb (128 kg) |
5.15 s | 1.82 s | 2.97 s | 4.67 s | 7.43 s | 28.0 in (0.71 m) |
8 ft 3 in (2.51 m) |
25 reps | |||
| All values from SMUPro Day[9] | ||||||||||||
Dallas Cowboys
[edit]Wood was signed as anundrafted free agentby theDallas Cowboysafter the2016 NFL draft,following a rookieminicamptryout on May 24.[10]During his firsttraining campwith the team, he also played on thedefensive line,even taking the snaps with the first defense in practices. He was waived on September 1, 2016.[11]
He signed a reserve/future contract with the Cowboys on January 16, 2017. In his second training camp with the Cowboys, he concentrated on being a long snapper and taking some of the practice load from stalwartL. P. Ladouceur.He was released on September 2, 2017.[12][13]
New Orleans Saints
[edit]In 2017, theNew Orleans Saintscouldn't find a potential candidate for the long snapper job during training camp. On August 28, the Saints obtainedJon Dorenbosfrom thePhiladelphia Eaglesin exchange for a seventh-round draft pick (not exercised).[14][15]On September 7, it was revealed that Dorenbos was diagnosed with anaortic aneurysm,which required immediate heart surgery. He was placed on thenon-football illnesslist the same day, and released with an injury settlement on September 9, before announcing his retirement.[16]On September 9, Wood was signed by the Saints, after a last minute tryout that included four other players.[17]He successfully became the team's long snapper for allpuntsandplacekicksduring the season.
On February 20, 2018, he was re-signed to a one-year contract. On February 11, 2019, he was re-signed to a one-year contract. On March 23, 2020, Wood signed a four-year contract with the Saints.[18]He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19list by the team on August 6, 2020,[19]and activated from the list three days later.[20]
On July 28, 2023, Wood signed a four-year contract extension with the Saints.[21]
References
[edit]- ^abc"Zach Wood".smumustangs.com. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^"2010 All State: APSE CLass 5A".lonestarpreps.rivals.com. December 15, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^"2015 SMU FOOTBALL"(PDF).smumustangs.com. p. 26. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^"2015 Football Cumulative Statistics".smumustangs.com. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^"2016 SMU FOOTBALL"(PDF).smumustangs.com. p. 124. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^DeShazier, John (September 9, 2017)."John DeShazier: New Saints long snapper Zach Wood plans to 'go out there and do what I do'".neworleanssaints.com. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^Embody, Billy (August 27, 2014)."SMU Football Depth Chart".247sports.com. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^"2015 SMU FOOTBALL GAME NOTES"(PDF).static.caasports.com. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^ab"Zach Wood".nfldraftscout.com. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 17,2017.
- ^Broaddus, Bryan (May 24, 2016)."Scouting Report: Quick Look At Rookie DE Zach Wood, Who Signed Tuesday".DallasCowboys.com.Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 18,2017.
- ^"2016 TRANSACTIONS BY DATE"(PDF).DallasCowboys.com.October 18, 2017. p. 39. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 18,2017.
- ^Eatman, Nick (January 16, 2017)."Showers, Rod Smith Among 12 Players Signed To Cowboys Offseason Roster".DallasCowboys.com.Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 18,2017.
- ^"Cowboys Make 38 Moves, One Trade To Reach 53; Kellen Moore Released".DallasCowboys.com.September 2, 2017.RetrievedOctober 18,2017.
- ^Spadaro, Dave (August 28, 2017)."Dorenbos Trade A 'Difficult' One For Team".PhiladelphiaEagles.com.Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2017.RetrievedAugust 29,2017.
- ^Shook, Nick (August 28, 2017)."Eagles trade LS Jon Dorenbos to Saints for draft pick".NFL.com.RetrievedJune 21,2018.
- ^Orr, Conor (September 8, 2017)."Jon Dorenbos diagnosed with aortic aneurysm".NFL.com.RetrievedSeptember 22,2023.
- ^"TRANSACTIONS".neworleanssaints.com. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2017.RetrievedOctober 18,2017.
- ^Just, Amie (March 16, 2020)."Saints, LS Zach Wood agree to 4-year deal".NOLA.com.RetrievedSeptember 22,2023.
- ^Just, Amie (August 6, 2020)."Two Saints players put on reserve/COVID-19 list; here's what that means".NOLA.com.RetrievedAugust 10,2020.
- ^Sigler, John (August 8, 2020)."Long snapper Zach Wood cleared from NFL's COVID-19 protocol".USAToday.com.RetrievedAugust 11,2020.
- ^Simmons, Myles (July 28, 2023)."Saints sign long snapper Zach Wood to an extension".Pro Football Talk.NBC Sports.RetrievedSeptember 22,2023.