Doctor Detroit? Lions rookies Zenner, Tomlinson plan to be after football
ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Laken Tomlinson, the Detroit Lions' first-round draft pick, wasn't the only one taking part in the team's rookie mini-camp over the weekend who wants to be a doctor following his football career.
So does Zach Zenner, a 5-foot-11, 223-pound running back who went undrafted coming out of South Dakota State.
Zenner, who became the first player in Division I history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, graduated with a degree in biology and has been accepted to the medical school at the University of South Dakota.
For now he's putting that on hold in hopes of making a NFL team.
"I deferred my enrollment for this year," Zenner said. "If I make a team, then I would defer again. I'm going to give this NFL thing its full chance."
While Tomlinson's interest in the medical field grew because he felt his late grandfather hadn't received proper care back in their native land of Jamaica, Zenner's developed, in part, out of being an avid deer hunter.
"I like the outdoors," Zenner said. "We went deer hunting. When you field dress the deer, you take out the organs. I thought that was awesome. I really did. I loved it. I couldn't believe how cool it was, how everything fit together.
"I think that sparked my interest into sciences in high school and from there into college. Every science (class) that I had really encouraged me that this is something I have interest in."
Like Tomlinson, Zenner aspires to be a surgeon one day, and they've talked in recent days about their similar goals.
"It was fun," Zenner said of the conversation. "We just talked about the process. We have the same kind of mindset on what we had to go through as undergrads and then the application process (for medical school) is very tedious, long and challenging. We touched on that a little bit."
Zenner knows he has to excel on special teams, which he did little of toward the end of his college career, to have any realistic shot of sticking with a team like the Lions.
As for how long he'll give himself to make the NFL before turning to med school, Zenner said, "I don't have a black-and-white line there. I think it's going to be more of a feel thing (on his NFL chances)."
Zenner's credentials include rushing for 202 yards against Nebraska during his junior year, he wasn't one of the 256 players drafted last week over seven rounds.
Many undrafted players admit they're extremely motivated by such a snub, but Zenner said he's not approaching it that way.
"I don't feel slighted," he said. "I still have the same opportunity as those guys who did get drafted. I just have to prove myself out here. I'm just trying to do my best.
"I'm really not a chip-on-the-shoulder type guy."
