The Pittsburgh Steelers first of two sixth round picks in the 2014 NFL Draft has been made and it’s UCLA LB Jordan Zumwalt.
Scouting report via Dave Te’ Thomas.
JORDAN DEAN ZUMALT
Inside/Outside Linebacker
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins
#35
6:04.0-235
Huntington Beach, California
Thomas Edison High School
OVERVIEW
Zumalt came on strong as his career progressed from his linebacker position, as he accrued thirty starting assignments for the Bruins. What makes the player an inviting prospect for NFL teams is the variety of those quality starts. As a freshman, he earned a combined four starts playing both strong-side outside and middle linebacker positions.
He added four more starts on the strong-side as a sophomore and then shifted to the weak-side outside position as a junior, starting nine of the thirteen games he played in. With the team installing a 3-4 defensive alignment for the 2013 season, the senior seamlessly adapted to his role as the weak-side inside linebacker, starting each of the Bruins’ thirteen contests.
Each year and each position change saw Zumalt improve his statistical production. He had 32 tackles as a freshman, almost doubling that total to sixty stops during the same amount of starts from his previous campaign, during the 2011 schedule. As a junior, he posted 71 hits and registered three turnovers. He then closed out his time with UCLA by delivering a career-high 93 tackles while recording five turnovers.
Zumwalt attended Edison High School, where he lettered four times on the gridiron. A four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, the EA Sports All-American second-team selection was rated the fourth-best inside linebacker and ranked as the 205th national overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com.
Scout.com placed him ninth among the nation’s elite middle linebackers and Super Prep rated him the 38th-best player in the West. The Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 pick was named as an honorable mention for the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West team. During his final season, the defender registered 164 tackles with 3.5 sacks and ten more stops behind the line of scrimmage.
That performance saw Zumalt be selected as the GoldenStatePreps.com SoCal Defensive Player of the Year, adding MaxPreps All-California first-team honors. He was also chosen the Orange County Register Defensive Player of the Year and CIF-SS Pac-5 Division Defensive Player of the Year following his senior year. The two-time Defensive MVP of the Sunset League also lettered two seasons in basketball and one year in wrestling.
Zumalt made a quick impression upon enrolling at UCLA, as the John Boncheff Jr. Memorial Award for Rookie of the Year recipient was also named to the Freshman All-Pac 10 Conference team. Playing two linebacker positions, he earned four starts in 2010, making 32 tackles with three sacks for the Bruins.
Zumalt forced his way back into the starting lineup late in his sophomore year, as his late surge would earn him All-Bowl Team recognition from ESPN after he picked off a pass, deflected a fourth-down toss and had ten tackles that included a pair of stops-for-loss vs. Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. His eighteen stops in his final two games improved his overall statistics to sixty tackles with six of those hits coming from behind the line of scrimmage.
Moving to the flank on the weak-side, Zumalt started nine of thirteen contests as a junior. He collected 71 tackles, fourth-best on the team. He recorded the first two sacks for his career and made eight tackles in the opposing backfields. He also blocked a punt that he advanced to set up a UCLA touchdown drive.
For the first time as a Bruin, Zumalt was a full-time starter, lining up with the first unit at weak-side inside linebacker for all thirteen games. He finished second on the team with 93 tackles, receiving All-Pac 12 Conference recognition, as the Butkus Award Watch List member also contributed away from the defensive unit.
In addition to intercepting a pair of passes, Zumalt fielded three short kickoffs and also caught a pass for 12 yards. He would conclude his career by being named co-MVP of the Sun Bowl and then suiting up one last time as a collegian in the 2014 Senior Bowl.
CAREER NOTES
Zumalt started 30-of-50 contests at UCLA – four at weak-side outside linebacker and one in the middle as a freshman; adding four starts in the middle as a sophomore; nine at strong-side outside linebacker as a junior and thirteen at weak-side inside linebacker during his final campaign…Finished with 256 tackles (164 solos) that included two sacks for minus 11 yards, 22.0 stops for losses of 75 yards five forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and two blocked kicks, advancing a blocked punt nine yards…Deflected two passes and intercepted two others…Also gained 12 yards on a reception.
SEASON ANALYSIS
2013 SEASON
Zumalt earned All-Pac 12 Conference second-team accolades from The NFL Draft Report and received honorable mention from the league’s coaches…The Butkus Award Watch List member and 2014 Senior Bowl invitee was also named co-MVP after his performance vs. Virginia Tech in the Sun Bowl…Finished second on the team with a career-high 93 tackles (54 solos) that included 5.5 stops for minus 16 yards…Caused three fumbles and intercepted two passes for 46 yards in returns…The senior was presented with the Kenneth S. Washington Award for Outstanding Senior of the Year (defense) at the team’s annual banquet…Opened the season with seven tackles, including one for a loss vs. Nevada and made nine hits (6 solos) the following week vs. Nebraska…Totaled nine tackles vs. Stanford and posted fourteen hits (10 solos) with a pair of stops behind the line of scrimmage vs. Oregon…Picked off a pass and caused a fumble vs. Washington, as he also was in on seven hits with a 12-yard reception vs. Arizona State…Recorded eight tackles vs. Southern California and closed out his career with ten tackles and a 43-yard interception return vs. Virginia Tech vs. Sun Bowl.
2012 SEASON
Zumalt started nine of the thirteen games he appeared in, ranking fourth on the team with 71 tackles (52 solos), adding two sacks for minus 11 yards and eight stops for losses of 25 yards…Also caused two fumbles and recovered another…Posted seven tackles, including two for loss, one sack, one forced fumble vs. Nebraska…Added a tackle for loss vs. Oregon State and registered ten stops at Arizona State that included two tackles for loss and one sack…Made another stop behind the line of scrimmage and blocked a punt that he returned nine yards at Washington State…Delivered five stops vs. Southern California and led the team with 12 tackles, one for loss, in the Pac-12 Conference Championship Game at Stanford…Finished the year with fourteen tackles (9 solos), one fumble recovery and one forced fumble vs. Baylor in the Holiday Bowl.
2011 SEASON
Zumalt spent the bulk of the season at strong-side outside linebacker before starting four late season games at middle linebacker…Recorded 60 tackles (38 solos), ranking third on the team, with six of those stops coming from behind the line of scrimmage…Broke up one pass and intercepted another…Came off the bench at Houston to make five tackles, one for loss…Started vs. San Jose State and totaled five tackles…Came off the bench vs. Texas and made eight stops, adding four tackles, 1.5 for loss at Oregon State…Collected four tackles, one for loss, in a start at Stanford…Delivered eight tackles in the Pac-12 Championship game at Oregon and tied for the team lead with ten tackles, two for loss, as he also returned an interception ten yards vs. Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.
2010 SEASON
Zumalt appeared in eleven games, moving late in the season to middle linebacker, as he combined for four starts…The Defensive tri-winner of UCLA’s John Boncheff, Jr. Memorial Award for Rookie of the Year, Zumalt was also named to the Freshman All-Pac 10 team, as he totaled 32 tackles (20 solos) with three stops for losses of 22 yards.
INJURY REPORT
2012 Season…Zumalt sat out the Colorado game after falling off a scooter when a car hit him, gashing his head, which required stitches.
2013 Postseason…Did not participate in weight-lifting drills at the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine due to a left shoulder (AC joint) sprain.
AGILITY TESTS
4.76 in the 40-yard dash…1.63 10-yard dash…2.77 20-yard dash…4.25 20-yard shuttle…
6.99 three-cone drill…33-inch vertical jump…9’-8” broad jump…Bench pressed 225 pounds 20 times…31 ¼-inch arm length…8 ¾-inch hands…75 1/8-inch wingspan.
HIGH SCHOOL
Zumalt attended Thomas Edison (Huntington Beach, Cal.) High School, playing football for head coach Dave White…Lettered four times on the gridiron…A four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, the EA Sports All-American second-team selection was rated the fourth-best inside linebacker and ranked as the 205th national overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com…Scout.com placed him ninth among the nation’s elite middle line-backers and Super Prep rated him the 38th-best player in the West…The Tacoma News-Tribune Western 100 pick was named as an honorable mention for the Long Beach Press-Telegram Best in the West team…During his final season, the defender registered 164 tackles with 3.5 sacks and ten more stops behind the line of scrimmage…His performance saw Zumalt be selected as the GoldenStatePreps.com SoCal Defensive Player of the Year, adding MaxPreps All-California first-team honors…Chosen the Orange County Register Defensive Player of the Year and CIF-SS Pac-5 Division Defensive Player of the Year following his senior year…The two-time Defensive MVP of the Sunset League also lettered two seasons in basketball and one year in wrestling.
PERSONAL
Zumalt is a General Studies student…Son of Nanette and Rick Zumalt…Father played football at Arizona State (1986-87)…Mother was a three-sport athlete in high school…Born
Jordan Dean Zumwalt on 10/13/91 in LaHabra, California…Resides in Huntington Beach, California.
