ZUIDERVEEN SIGNS WITH ATLANTA FALCONS
Bulldog Lineman Among Nine Rookie Free Agents Signed by the NFL Team
Senior defensive end Dave Zuiderveen (Kalamazoo/Christian), a member of the 2000 Ferris State University football team, has agreed in principle to a contract with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL).
The 6-5, 241-pound lineman is expected to join the Falcons' 10 2001 draft selections and eight other first-year free agents in a rookie mini-camp scheduled for May 3-5, 2001 at the team's headquarters in Flowery Branch, Ga.
Zuiderveen, who was named a 2000 third-team All-American by Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette, participated in the eighth annual Whataburger Cactus Bowl All-Star Game earlier this year (Jan. 12) at Kingsville, Texas.
A four-year letterwinner, Zuiderveen was tabbed a 2000 Daktronics All-America Second-Team selection after attaining All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) First-Team Defensive Team honors this season. He finished this season with a personal season-best 76 total tackles (46 solos) which ranked fifth highest on the team. Zuiderveen, who was a co-recipient of the team's Most Valuable Defensive Lineman Award this season, recorded 22 tackles for loss (-77 yards) to go along with 11.5 quarterback sacks (-53 yards) this campaign. He ranked second among the final 2000 GLIAC leaders in both tackles for loss and quarterback sacks this fall.
In the final 2000 NCAA Division II rankings, Zuiderveen finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in quarterback sacks (1.05 avg.) and ranked 12th with three others in tackles for loss (2.00 avg.).
Zuiderveen registered 171 total tackles (97 solos) in 34 games during his four-year Bulldog career, including 46 tackles for a loss of 181 yards. He compiled 23.5 career quarterbacks sacks for minus 132 yards to go along with three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and a pass deflection.
Former Ferris State standouts Monty Brown (linebacker) and Ed Philion (defensive tackle) were the most recent Bulldogs to play in the NFL. Brown originally signed a rookie free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills in 1993 before joining the New England Patriots in 1996 as a restricted free agent. He competed in two Super Bowls - XXXVIII with Buffalo and XXXL with New England. Philion, currently a member of the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Montreal Alouettes, inked a rookie free agent contract with Buffalo in 1994 and then was claimed by the Carolina Panthers in 1996. He spent the 1998 NFL pre-season as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars as a result of leading the Rhein Fire to the inaugural NFL Europe World Bowl title in the summer of '98.
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