You’ve Got to Be Quick to Size Up Rick Zumwalt : Arizona State’s Defensive End Is Only 6-4, 214

Rick Zumwalt’s appearence doesn’t reveal much about him as a football player. He isn’t one of those guys who instantly looks like a lineman.

At 6-feet 4-inches and 214 pounds, his stature seems better suited for a wide receiver or a defensive back than a defensive end, which he plays for Arizona State.

He may walk lightly in the footsteps of most other defensive linemen, who usually weigh in at 250 pounds or larger, but he is certainly faster.

Zumwalt, a 22-year-old senior, and his teammates are practicing at Orange Coast College this week to prepare for Wednesday’s Freedom Bowl game in Anaheim Stadium against Air Force.

Being at OCC is hardly new for Zumwalt. It was his home field when he played at Edison High School and for Golden West College. Arizona State also worked out there last year to prepare for the Rose Bowl game, in which the Sun Devils defeated Michigan, 22-15.

“My speed is definitely my asset,” Zumwalt said after Arizona State’s first practice at OCC Saturday. “That’s why they recruited me. It certainly wasn’t for my size.”

Zumwalt is one of the Pacific 10’s lightest defensive ends and is the lightest defensive end at Arizona State. This season, he is rotating with starter Pat Taylor, a senior who weighs 20 pounds more.

Besides rotating on defense, Zumwalt also gets plenty of chances to play as a member of all the special teams.

“His asset definitely revolves around his ability to run,” said Larry Marmie, ASU defensive coordinator. “If you are going to have to sacrifice size or speed on defense, it should be size. You can always use speed to your advantage. If you can’t run on defense in today’s style of football, you have a major problem.”

Zumwalt came to Arizona State as a linebacker but was switched to defensive end this season because of a lack of depth along the line.

“He’s one of those guys we haven’t been totally fair with,” Marmie said. “We’ve moved him round plenty and he hasn’t really got that chance to settle into one position and learn it like other players have. But he has been able to make all the adjustments we’ve asked from him.”

Zumwalt’s current success is hardly a matter of natural progression. His path to Arizona State wasn’t direct.

Cal Poly Pomona, a Division II school, was the only four-year school to recruit him when he was a 6-1, 185-pound defensive end at Edison in 1983. But, after he accepted a scholarship to Pomona, the program was disbanded during the summer.

Zumwalt wanted to play, and he ended up at Golden West.

“He was just kind of a tall skinny kid who was very fast but not very big to be a defensive lineman,” said Ray Shackleford, Golden West football coach. “He was extremely talented and he was a sprinter on the track team, which was a pretty good combination for a defensive end. But he continued to develop, and just look where he got.”

But Zumwalt’s football career came to a stop after the 1983 season at Golden West. He had to sit out the next season because in the spring of 1984 he didn’t pass the required 12 units to be eligible for the fall of 1984.

So, Zumwalt went to work in the classroom and the weight room.

“One day I just decided that I was ready to make the commitment to football,” Zumwalt said. “I decided that my goal was going to be to play for a major college. I guess I just didn’t want to become a working man yet.”

He returned to the Golden West team in 1985 as a linebacker and had increased his weight to 220.

He went on to have an outstanding season and was voted to the all-Pac 9 first-team defense.

He went from being recruited by only one Division II college to being recruited by Nebraska, Southern Methodist University, Las Vegas and Arizona State.

“I’m not really sure why I picked Arizona State,” Zumwalt said. “I almost picked SMU (which has had its program suspended this season by the NCAA for recruiting violations). Boy I’m glad I didn’t. I guess Arizona State was the best place for me after all.”