No. 97, 78 | |||||||
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Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Date of birth: | March 13, 1969 | ||||||
Place of birth: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||
Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 282 lb (128 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Chicago (IL) Vocational | ||||||
College: | Notre Dame | ||||||
NFL Draft: | 1991 / Round: 2 / Pick: 49 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics as of 1998 | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR | |||||||
Tackles: | 211 |
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Sacks: | 16.5 |
Player stats at NFL.com |
Christopher Robert Zorich (born March 13, 1969) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in college for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins.
An only child of African American and Croatian descent, Zorich was raised by his mother (Zora) on the South Side of Chicago, where he attended Chicago Vocational High School. Chris is nephew to character actor Louis Zorich and his wife, Olympia Dukakis.
Zorich received a scholarship to play college football at the University of Notre Dame in 1987 and began as a linebacker but was moved to nose tackle early in the season and did not play. However, Zorich then earned All-American honors the following season. In his first game, he had one and a half sacks and ten tackles against the University of Michigan and finished the year third on the team in tackles as Notre Dame went undefeated and won the national championship.
During his junior year, he followed his initial season with a consensus All-America year in 1989 and was also one of four finalists for the Lombardi Award. Also in 1989 he was voted the UPI Lineman of the Year award as the top lineman in college football. As a senior, Zorich won the Lombardi Award and was recognized as a unanimous All-America.