Q&A with Football Student-Athlete Zach Von Rosenberg: Making Opportunities Happen

With the 2021 NFL Draft just weeks away, Healthy Tiger caught up with prolific LSU Football punter Zach Von Rosenberg. From a little kid bleeding purple and gold, to a professional baseball player, to a National Champion in football, to the pursuit of the NFL, Zach has learned and grown so much. He took some time out of his training schedule to share some insight about his experiences.

Q: When did you first start playing football, and when did you first start playing baseball?

A: Baseball, a little longer. The first ball I picked up was actually a baseball. I played on an organized team for the first time when I was 4 years old, but I was throwing a ball around since I could walk. I didn’t play organized football until I was 9 or 10.

Q: Did baseball take priority over football when you were growing up, or did you devote equal attention to both?

A: Baseball definitely took priority, for sure.

Q: What is the most valuable experience you had as a baseball player?

A: Failure in professional sports. That was something I wasn’t used to. Had I not failed in baseball, I may not have been successful at LSU.

Q: Why did you choose LSU?

A: I bled purple and gold since I was a kid. I was the kid taking dirt off of the old Alex Box stadium and putting it in water bottles back at home. I didn’t take visits anywhere else because I knew where I was going, and I didn’t want to waste their time and money.

Q: You originally committed to LSU for baseball, and were drafted in the 2009 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. You played in the Minor Leagues for six years as a pitcher, then decided to retire. What led to the decision to move on from this chapter in your life?

A: The ultimate goal was to play professional baseball, and I felt like it was the right opportunity at the time. I felt going to LSU and having to wait 3 more years to play was prolonging it too much. I thought college would always be there if professional baseball didn’t work out. But, I made a promise to my mom that I would go to college at some point. She only let me sign at 18 years old if I promised to go back to college eventually.

Q: Do you ever miss anything about baseball, in terms of the sport, the teams you played on, exposure to the professional side of it, anything like that?

A: I miss the brotherhood and comradery of baseball. It’s different from football in that with football, you have so many players. A lot of guys can easily get overlooked because there are 80+ players. In baseball, you get a lot closer to the guys on the team because it’s a smaller roster. You know everything about them, their families, wives, girlfriends, all of it. I miss the game itself and competing in baseball, but I love competing in all sports. It has been awesome to put the jersey on again and compete in football.

Q: What prompted you to walk-on to LSU’s football team?

A: An email to Dr. Nader. Before I sent that email though, I was already training and planning on walking on. I guessed I would do okay as a student at LSU, but I always need something to get away from school. I have always had a sport to get away from it, and I knew I needed that in college too. The only time I didn’t have school was when I played professional baseball. Sports are an outlet. It may be more stressful at times to do both, but you get to do something that you love.

Q: You walked-on as a tight-end, but punted in high school at Zachary. How did you find yourself back in the punting position?

A: Cam Cameron noticed me punting before practice, and he told me that all of the tight ends were back healthy. He thought I had a real shot at punting well in the SEC, and I agreed with him. So, I pursued it.

Q: We saw some tweets last season where you were filling in as a quarterback in practice. Have you played that position in your career as well?

A: Not at LSU. I did when I was younger here and there, but once baseball took over, I stopped playing football abruptly. Baseball took priority, and I was away from the game until I punted in high school.

Q: What is your favorite and least favorite thing about punting?

A: Favorite thing is how similar it is to pitching. Once the ball is in your hand, nothing happens until you kick it. It’s the same in baseball: once the ball is in your hand, nothing can happen until you throw it. However, I don’t like how I can’t score points. If you could, it would definitely make it a more noticeable position in the game.

Q: How would you describe your development as a player and person as you went through your career at LSU?

A: It was a little strange coming in. It wasn’t terrible because I was somewhat close in age to the seniors, but it became increasingly difficult to relate to the younger players. Especially with the COVID summer, I couldn’t interact with the players in the way that I had in the past. Also, I grew up playing outside and hardly playing video games. Now, you don’t see kids riding their bikes and playing at the park anymore. They are all on their phones and things like that. It was hard because I just grew up in a different time.

Q: What was it like going undefeated and winning the national championship in 2019?

A: It was like a fairy tale in a way. Everything aligned perfectly. Right coaches, right positions, right play calling, right players. We had a bunch of underdogs that ended up being first round draft picks. There were guys that were overlooked, told they were too small or what have you, they ended up being superstars.

Q: What is your favorite memory from your career at LSU?

A: Besides the national championship win, I would say the 2019 Florida game when the entire stadium was Gator chomping.

Q: LSU had many guys get drafted from the 2019 team. What impact did they have on you? Were they inspiring and motivating? What was your relationship like with them?

A: So many of them were counted out. Clyde was called too small; people said he wouldn’t be able to break tackles, etc. Justin Jefferson sat for 2-3 years before he could play. Joe had to transfer from Ohio State. I could really relate to how they had to struggle just like I did in baseball and in my life. Seeing how they overcame it, and how badly they wanted it was special. Not every team is like that.

Q: How would you describe the relationships you have built with coaches, players, trainers and other staff from LSU Football?

A: They are world class. LSU has their players well-kept with so many eyes on them. It’s all people that want to be there and want to be the best of the best. There’s Jack, Shelly and Micki just to name a few. I went in today and got help from them, and I’m not even there anymore. It’s an elite, world-class facility run by elite, world-class people.

Q: What is the biggest thing you will take with you from your time at LSU as a football player, and also as a student-athlete in general?

A: It’s still kind of surreal looking back on my career because of how much doubt there was. I struggled to find my place in the program and what my role would be. Once I found my place, knowing I didn’t give up, even though I could have, means a lot. Hopefully, I can apply that in the future when I get into the corporate world. When you know you can achieve something, don’t give up just because it gets difficult.  I did just that with baseball, and in the beginning of my football career at LSU.

Q: What type of influence has your family had on you in terms of your athletic career, and as a whole person?

A: My dad is ex-military and my mom taught nursing. They were very strict parents, but with good reason. They have 5 boys, and that’s a lot. I don’t know how my mom did it. They are structured and disciplined, always expecting us to achieve more. It always worked wonders, and did a number on our careers to always strive to do better, improve and learn more. Both of them ended up being school teachers later in life, and they taught us that all the way up.

Q: Do you have any role models or mentors that have shaped you?

A: Early in my life it was baseball players, like Chipper Jones, because he was a hitter. Later, it was my dad. He did everything in his power to give us the best he could. My oldest brother, Josh, really mentored me. He was the one that set on the mission of me playing professional sports. He decided when I was 9 years old that I was going to play professional baseball. He would hit ground balls and throw to me when he was 18 at the time, and he was a big force in shaping my athletic career.

 Q: What are your thoughts and feelings as we approach the 2021 NFL Draft?

A: I’m excited. Whatever happens, happens. The work has been put in and I have done everything I needed to do to make sure I was ready for my Pro Day. I have done things I’ve never done before in terms of position-specific training, but I feel like I have done everything I needed to do to be ready. That mission has been accomplished.

Q: What has been your preparation process for the draft?

A: I went to Dallas to train at a facility up there. I lived with my kicking coach, and I’m debating whether or not to go back there. I may stay in Baton Rouge to train here. I’m trying to keep my schedule open in case someone calls and asks me to come kick.

Q: How has LSU Football, the LSU Athletic Department, and LSU as a university prepared you for this next chapter in your life?

A: Within the athletics department, the structure that is built at LSU in terms of the preparation for Saturdays can apply to the rest of your life. There is so much work put in to producing an outcome that is at an elite level. How Coach O operates day to day is the perfect example. He attacks every day and is living his dream job. Now, I know that my dream job is punting in the NFL. It makes me want to attack my career with the same level of passion.

Q: What are your goals for your career in the NFL, and beyond?

A: A team goal is to be a Super Bowl Champion. That’s number one on the list because it’s such a difficult thing to say. I’ve won a championship at every single level except the NFL, and that would be the pinnacle of all things. How many more boxes could you really check off? It would be amazing. As a personal goal, I would also like to be a Pro Bowler.

Q: Do you have a quote or mantra that you live by?

A: I guess this one is recent. With COVID, you do a lot of reflecting on life. My new one is, “I want to make 8-year-old me and 80-year-old me happy.” I think 8-year-old me would be happy thus far, but I want 80-year-old me to be happy with everything. If I can do that, I think I have had a pretty successful life.

Q: Do you have any pre-game superstitions that you plan to carry with you into the NFL?

A: I did wear my same sliding shorts to every game, every year. I don’t know if that’s a superstition, or comfort. I guess I had more in baseball than I did in football. Not a whole lot besides the same sliding shorts for comfort reasons.

Q: What is your favorite type of music?

A: I listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blink 182. I grew up on classic rock and country, and I will always love 90s and early 2000s rock.

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: I gotta go with jambalaya, right? My mom’s specifically.

Q: What advice would you give to incoming student-athletes at LSU, especially the football players?

A: Don’t allow your school work to overwhelm you your first two semesters. Get on top of it. You can still have fun, but understand your priorities. It can get out of hand easily, so be on top of it.

Q: What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

A: The only thing standing between you and your goals is the story you told yourself as to why you can’t achieve it. You’re making up the story as to why you can’t do something before you even try to do it.