Played LB at Brecksville-Broadview Heights (OH) HS alongside former Iowa State and current Kansas City Chiefs LB Mike Rose.
Received All-Patriot-League honors in three consecutive seasons. Was selected to the first-team in 2021 and 2019 and the second team in 2018.
Member of the Patriot League All-Academic team in 2021.
Golden Nuggets
Last name is pronounced zuh-CAL.
Played LB at Brecksville-Broadview Heights (OH) HS alongside former Iowa State and current Kansas City Chiefs LB Mike Rose.
Received All-Patriot-League honors in three consecutive seasons. Was selected to the first-team in 2021 and 2019 and the second team in 2018.
Member of the Patriot League All-Academic team in 2021.
Goldmine
Zakelj's path to the NFL was anything but traditional. The Brecks-ville-Broadview Heights (OH) HS product was a zero-start recruit when he joined FCS Fordham University's football team. Once on campus, the former LB converted to OL. If it wasn't for another Fordham teammate and current Miami Dolphins RB Chase Ed-Monds, Zakelj may not have ended up where he is today. When NFL scouts from all 32 teams came to see Edmonds his senior year, they were struck by the potential Zakelj possessed as a freshman playing offensive line for the first time. The story came full circle when the 49ers drafted the four-year starter five years later in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Zakelj earned his Master's Degree in business analytics while at Fordham and is passionate about the subject. Zakelj said if he wasn't in the NFL, he'd probably pursue a career in baseball analytics, something he explores in his free time. "Baseball reference is the coolest thing ever. Looking at Barry Bonds' baseball reference page... that 2004 season is so crazy," Zaklej said. "Sites like fan- graphs make it so much easier for a causal fan to understand that stuff. As I got further in my studies at Fordham, I was actually able to take that data and analyze it myself."
College
Appeared in 37 games in five years (2017-21) at Fordham. As a senior in 2021, appeared in 5 games (3 starts) and helped Ford- ham rank 6th in the FCS in yds. per game (349.7). As a junior in 2019, started all 12 games at LT and helped block for the Patriot League's top-ranked offense (357.2 yds. per game). Appeared in all 11 games as a sophomore in 2018. As a freshman in 2017, appeared in 9 games (8 starts).
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