Scott Zolak

The following week, he once more featured in a dramatic conclusion, throwing a 59-yard touchdown pass to Gene Thomas with 2:27 left to beat 25th ranked West Virginia, 14–10.

However, he was struggling in other aspects of his game.

In an October game against Georgia Tech, Zolak was sacked 10 times.

In four games, he had been sacked 23 times and had a pass intercepted 12 times.

Scott David Zolak (born December 13, 1967) is an American broadcaster and former professional football player.

He played quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots.

Over the course of his career, he played in 55 games, with 7 starts, for the Patriots and Miami Dolphins, completed 124 of 248 passes for 1,314 yards, threw eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, and finished his career with a passer rating of 64.8.

Zolak was born on December 13, 1967, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

As a child, he acted as the waterboy for the football team at Ringgold High School in Monongahela, Pennsylvania, where his father, Paul, worked as head coach and athletic director.

Future NFL quarterback Joe Montana played for Ringgold during this time and gave Zolak a football, which he later rubbed for good luck before every game.

When Zolak attended Ringgold High School himself, he was the team's starting quarterback and punter, and lettered four times.

Zolak also played on the Ringgold basketball team as a forward, and was a four-time letterman in that sport as well.

As a result of his football performance, he was invited to participate in the Big 33 Football Classic, which featured the top high school football players in Pennsylvania.

After graduating from high school, Zolak played college football at the University of Maryland.

He sat out his freshman year, and became the third-string quarterback behind Dan Henning and Neil O'Donnell after two quarterbacks transferred.

By the end of his sophomore season, Zolak was challenging O'Donnell for the starting job after Henning graduated.

As his junior year began, in the summer of 1988, offensive coordinator Bob Valesente said that Zolak was making tremendous strides as a quarterback, but O'Donnell was the starting quarterback that year.

Zolak's first collegiate appearance came against West Virginia.

He completed four of six passes for 28 yards, but had an interception returned for a touchdown by Bo Orlando in a 55–24 loss.

He appeared in four games for Maryland that season.

Zolak was again the backup behind O'Donnell in 1989.

He played in eight games, completing 33 of 69 passes for 407 yards and two touchdowns.

In 1990, after O'Donnell graduated and began his NFL career, Zolak became the starter for Maryland, and head coach Joe Krivak had high hopes for him heading into the season.

In his first start as a senior, Zolak completed a school record 28 passes in 46 attempts for 303 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard pass to Gene Thomas with 61 seconds left that gave Maryland the win against Virginia Tech, 20–13.

By the end of the season, as Maryland was preparing to face Louisiana Tech in the 1990 Independence Bowl, he had thrown 225 completed passes in 418 attempts for 2,589 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The teams tied, 34–34, in Zolak's final collegiate appearance.

At the time of his graduation, he ranked fifth in school history with 270 pass completions, seventh with 3,124 career passing yards, and second with 2,589 passing yards in a season.

He was also named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week four times.

Zolak remains the most recent quarterback drafted from Maryland.

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A graduate of Ringgold High School and the University of Maryland, Zolak was selected 84th in the 1991 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.

He did not play in 1991, but started four games in 1992 and had his most productive season statistically.

The New England Patriots selected Zolak with the 84th pick in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL Draft.

Scouting reports noted that his size and arm strength were great for the NFL, though there were concerns about his accuracy.

Upon drafting him, Patriots Vice President of Player Operations Joe Mendes agreed that his size and arm would translate to the NFL, and he was not worried about any accuracy issues.

His drafting led to a shakeup with the Patriots' current quarterbacks, as Marc Wilson announced his retirement and longtime starting quarterback Steve Grogan was released.

When Drew Bledsoe was drafted in 1993, Zolak became his backup for the next six seasons.

He appeared as a replacement for Bledsoe when he was hurt, but only started three games during this time.

He was released at the end of the 1998 season, and signed with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins in 1999, playing in one game for Miami before retiring.

After his retirement, he became a sportscaster and football analyst in the New England area.