Interview: Top 2018 OC Zack Zambrano Talks Florida State Title and Princeton Official

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

The high school football career for Class of 2018 center Zack Zambrano has truly been impressive. The American Heritage star lineman has won three Florida state titles in four years earning a spot at the varsity level as a freshman and going back-to-back in 2016 and 2017 with wins over Ponte Vedra (35-33) and Baker County (44-15) respectively. The hard work on the field for the 6-4, 290 pound, 3-star lineman has produced titles and 17 scholarship offers. The hard work in the classroom will allow him to attend any school in the country of his choosing with a 4.6 weighted GPA and a 1240 on the SAT and a 27 on the ACT.

In a Recruiting News Guru end of season wrap up interview, I sat down with Zambrano covering his championship winning season and a recruiting process that is inching closer to completion.

Interview

Zack, congratulations on winning another Florida state title. What was the playoff run like this year for you?

“There were a couple of moments where it was dicey. We got past all the mishaps because of how close we were as a team this year. I think this is the closest team I have been on in my four years at American Heritage. We were close, and we took accountability for our play on the field. When you play for the man next to you, you pull through for one another. The coaches and players, all the seniors, we pulled together and learned how to do it. We saw the seniors ahead of us accomplish great things and learned from them to keep it going. We kept pushing as hard as we could to get through the playoffs for another championship.”

You just alluded to my next question. You guys had a couple of close games against Cardinal Gibbons (58-57 OT) and Immokalee (28-21) in the playoffs, how did those games push you as a player?

“Those games were fun games. I had walking pneumonia in the Cardinal Gibbons game in November. That was a rough first game against them. I had a great time playing in both games against them. They were very close games. In the first game, we made mistakes and we were not on. We did not play to our abilities.

“In the second game, I think we were down 27-6 in the first half. The older guys were smiling. We knew we would win that game. We started plugging away and won in overtime. Against Immokalee, we pulled out a great win. It was a great feeling to get wins in both of those games.”

The Baker County game in the state final seemed in hand early on, what was the feeling like in the fourth quarter when you knew the Patriots were going back-to-back?

“I was ecstatic. That is how you want it to be as a senior. That is how you want to go out. The fact that I got to do it with my little brother (Hunter), seeing him win his first state championship made it even more special for me. We put in so much hard work as at team. It was truly something special to go back-to-back undefeated over the past two seasons.”

Through the playoff run, going up against top players from across the state of Florida, were you happy with how well you played?

“Yeah. As the season went on I got stronger and stronger. My form got better and better. We did that as a team too, we just kept improving all season long. My film kept getting better throughout the playoffs.”

How did the team tackle the season to go undefeated again?

“I feel like every day as a team, we would attack each day as hard as we could and have fun with it at practice. We focused on the little things. It was a collective effort to repeat and go undefeated.”

Looking back on the season, how did you push your skillset forward?

“The biggest thing I worked on was using my off-hand, being faster with it. The second half of the season, I was striking quicker with my second hand and carrying through with my blocks.”

If you will, update me on the schools showing interest in your but have not offered?

“The interest I am receiving right now is coming primarily from the schools that have offered. Of the schools that have offered, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, FAU (Florida Atlantic) and Western Michigan are showing the most interest.”

How many offers do you have now?

“Seventeen.”

Have any college coaches come by American Heritage to meet with you during the open period?

“Penn came by last Thursday. Princeton, Western Michigan, Columbia, and FAU have all come by school to meet with me.”

Have you had any in-home visits this month?

“Yes, sir. I have met with Princeton, Penn, Columbia, and Western Michigan for in-home visits.”

You’ve taken a lot of visits, which schools have you visited since October?

“Penn and Princeton.”

Were both official visits?

“Yes, sir.”

How did the visit to Princeton go?

“It went really well. The coaching staff is some of the best around. They have a beautiful campus and unparalleled academics. Princeton is Top 10 in the world in academics. It was a great visit with great coaches. Their facilities were top notch, everything was top notch.”

How did the UPenn visit go?

“Academically, their academics are also unparalleled. They have a great coaching staff with a history and tradition of being dominating in the Ivy League. Actually, their offense is similar to American Heritage. The school is in Philadelphia, such a great city to go around the school. They have top notch players, coaches, and academics.”

Do you have any visits set upcoming?

“As of now, my only visit that is set for sure is Columbia.”

Have you started to narrow in on a date when you may announce?

“As of now, no. I have no date in mind yet for my announcement.”

Zack, as always, thanks for your time and, again, congratulations on your second consecutive state title win.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: gregbishopphoto.com; American Heritage captains (2017)

Photo credit: Florida HS Football; No. 57 Zack Zambrano