Michael Zordich is a 6 foot 1 fullback that weighs in at 236. He’s from Youngstown, Ohio, and attended Cardinal Mooney High. He used to be a linebacker and uses those skills to excel at his current position. Michael is the son of two Penn State grads, his dad, also named Michael, is a 12 year vet of the league and the secondary/safety coach. When he’s not on the field, he enjoys playing golf, basketball, and video games.
ProPlayerInsiders (PPI): You’re here today with the opportunity to train with some of the best in the NFL, what are some of the things they’re instilling on you and helping you take the next step?
Michael Zordich (MZ): Ya, I’ve been very fortunate, Priest Holmes is my position coach, Dick Vermeil the head coach. Really they’re just teaching us what we have to do and the mindset we have to have and just the focus on preparation and just the transition that we’re going through. It’s awesome, just take notes down and listen to what they have to say and learn from guys that have been there before and not just been there but excelled and have done great things at that level, so I’m just fortunate to be here and taking every advantage that I can and just getting it in a notebook.
PPI: You also have some family that has a bit of experience, can you tell us a little bit about that?
MZ: My dad played for about 12 years and I pretty much grew up in a locker room messin’ around with all the players… It was just fun to be a part of, playing video games with guys like Hollis Thomas and Troy Vincent, all those guys, it’s just really cool to have done and to have been a part of it, really just having the memory bank, it’s cool learning experience and just to be around that atmosphere for that long is a blessing.
PPI: What are some of the things your dad assured with you, has he taken an active role? I know that when I talked to Andrew Luck last year, his dad kinda stepped back and let him make his decisions… How is that?
MZ: Both of my parents, since they’d been around it for so long, they were great… They stepped back and they let me be my own person and make my decisions, they’re the kind of people that if I ever ask or if I ever needed anything, which I wasn’t afraid to do, they were right there and they gave me everything that I needed to know and kinda guided me through it and they were there for all the bumps and bruises and they helped me get through those and they’re just great people that obviously, I’m very thankful for.
PPI: Your decision to stay and play at Penn State was a big one and probably one that you spent a lot of time thinking about, how did you come to that decision and how do you think it’s helped you?
MZ: Well it was actually pretty easy for me, because I had been there for four years and built these relationships with guys on the team and they felt the same way. It would be a shame to just up and leave and just forget about everything that we had done, so we felt that we had an obligation to each other and we wanted to finish out what we had started and Coach O’Brien came in and did an awesome job, I built a great relationship with him and couldn’t be more thankful for everything he’s done and I think at the end of the day it’s just made me a stronger person and the type of person that understands that when bad things happen, good things will come from it if you work to make that happen. Ya know, went through a lot but at the end of the day we made it best.
