Zach Strief (Football, 2001-05)
Zach Strief earned a Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) first-team All-America honor as a senior in 2005 to become Northwestern’s first All-America offensive lineman in 22 years.
Strief was the anchor of an offensive line in 2005 that helped the Wildcats become just the second team in Big Ten history to average more than 500 yards (500.3) per game. That total offense ranked fourth in the country that season and helped Northwestern earn a berth in the Sun Bowl.
A three-time All-Big Ten award winner, Strief earned a starting spot during the final three games of his redshirt freshman season and started every game thereafter to rack up 41 for his career. He helped NU’s offense rank 14th in the nation in rushing in 2003 and 29th in total offense in 2004 prior to the Wildcats’ record-setting 2005 campaign.
Strief was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and played his entire NFL career with the franchise until his retirement in 2018. He was a member of the winning Super Bowl XLIV squad in 2009.
Strief was the anchor of an offensive line in 2005 that helped the Wildcats become just the second team in Big Ten history to average more than 500 yards (500.3) per game. That total offense ranked fourth in the country that season and helped Northwestern earn a berth in the Sun Bowl.
A three-time All-Big Ten award winner, Strief earned a starting spot during the final three games of his redshirt freshman season and started every game thereafter to rack up 41 for his career. He helped NU’s offense rank 14th in the nation in rushing in 2003 and 29th in total offense in 2004 prior to the Wildcats’ record-setting 2005 campaign.
Strief was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints and played his entire NFL career with the franchise until his retirement in 2018. He was a member of the winning Super Bowl XLIV squad in 2009.
