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Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2022
- Class:
- 2007
Zak DeOssie enters the Brown Athletic Hall of Fame as one of the most decorated football players in Brown program history. DeOssie played in 36 games with 29 starts at Brown and recorded 315 tackles (187 solo) with 10.5 sacks, 36.5 tackles-for-loss, five quarterback pressures, five forced fumbles, 11 deflected passes, four interceptions, and one blocked kick.
He was a two-time I-AA All-American and a two-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the nation’s top FCS defensive player. As a senior in 2006, DeOssie was named a First Team All-American by The NFL Draft Report and a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press. In 2006, DeOssie earned First Team All-Ivy honors for the third straight season and started all 10 games at strongside inside linebacker. He led the team with a career-high 110 tackles (68 solo).
DeOssie’s impactful defensive play was a major factor in Brown’s 2005 Ivy League Championship season.
“Zak was the best, pure athlete that I ever recruited to Brown,” said Phil Estes, former Brown Football Head Coach. “Not many people know that he was also a quarterback in high school but most colleges were recruiting him as a defensive player only. We told him we’d give him a shot at quarterback but we knew that he would be a great defensive player for us. How did we know? I think he may have thrown double-digit interceptions as a quarterback but he was always the first one down the field to make the tackle! In all seriousness, he truly was one of the most skillful, pure athletic football players that I have ever been around. He had it all: intelligence, strength, speed, endurance. I really feel like he could have played linebacker in the NFL but, because of his tremendous skill as a long-snapper and how much that is valued in that league, he made a great career out of that.”
Following his Brown career, DeOssie was selected in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. From there, DeOssie enjoyed an 13-year NFL career, all with the Giants, as the team’s long-snapper.
During his career, DeOssie lifted the Lombardi Trophy twice, in 2007 and 2011, and spent the last six years as a special teams captain.
DeOssie and his father, Steve, are the lone father-son duo to win a Super Bowl with the same organization.
