Jeff Zimmerman (American football)

Jeffrey Alan "Jeff" Zimmerman (born January 10, 1963) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Zimmerman played college football for the University of Florida, and was twice recognized as an All-American. Thereafter, he played professionally for the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL.

Early years

Zimmerman was born in Enid, Oklahoma in 1963.^[1] He attended Maynard Evans High School in Orlando, Florida,^[2] and played high school football for the Evans Trojans.

College career

Zimmerman received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Charley Pell and coach Galen Hall's Florida Gators football teams from 1983 to 1986.^[3] Zimmerman was one of the members of the Gators' outstanding offensive line of the mid-1980s known as the "Great Wall of Florida," which included Phil Bromley, Lomas Brown, Billy Hinson and Crawford Ker. Behind the blocking of Zimmerman and his Great Wall teammates, the Gators' quarterback Kerwin Bell, fullback John L. Williams and halfback Neal Anderson led the Gators to identical 9–1–1 overall win-loss records and best-in-the-SEC records of 5–0–1 and 5–1 in 1984 and 1985, respectively. Zimmerman was a first-team All-SEC selection and a first-team All-American in 1985 and 1986.^[3]

Professional career

The Dallas Cowboys drafted Zimmerman in the third round (sixty-eighth pick overall) of the 1987 NFL Draft,^[4] and he played in thirty-four games for the Cowboys from 1987 to 1990.^[5]

See also

• 1985 College Football All-America Team
• 1986 College Football All-America Team
• Florida Gators
• Florida Gators football, 1980–1989
• List of Dallas Cowboys players
• List of Florida Gators football players
• List of University of Florida alumni

References

Bibliography

• Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0794822983.
• Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
• Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
• McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). ISBN 978-0-7385-0559-6.
• Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). ISBN 1-57167-196x.