NFL Draft Diamonds Prospect Interview: Zach Bartlow, QB, Eastern Oregon University

NFL Draft Diamonds has been bringing our readers Prospect Interviews over the past 3 years and this year we mixed up the questions and added some fun questions for our readers. Our questions are designed to give our readers a little more insight on the player. We hope to bring you more than 350 interviews of NFL Draft Prospects this season. You will be able to track them all on the front page of our website in the banner to the right.  Now let’s meet the prospect!!!!

What is your name?

Zach Bartlow

What is your Height/Weight?

6’0″- 200 lbs

What is your position?

QB

Where do you play college football?

Eastern Oregon University

Football is about giving back, what is the coolest thing you have done off the field?

Every summer I get to take some of the middle school and high school kids from my hometown to a Young Life camp for a week.  I get to hang out with them and help mentor them for a week every summer and it’s a highlight for me every year!

Where are you from?

Waitsburg, WA

Who is your role model, and why?

My Grandpa.  The way he loves and cares for others, the amount of passion he puts into his work, and the way he lives life is all inspiring for me.  If I turned out to be half the man he was I would be pretty fortunate. 

Did you play any other sports growing up?

Basketball and Baseball as well.

Did you play any other positions in football?

I started off playing WR when I was very young, but since 6th grade I have been the QB for my team every year.  Also played FS in high school.

At your position, what separates you from others?

I would say my legs and ability to avoid the rush and improvise on broken plays separates me from others.

When you are breaking down film, what do you look for?

Coverage contours, patterns, and tendencies.

Who was the toughest player you ever faced?

Clay DeBord is a guy who sticks out to me.  I faced him in high school when he was an D-lineman.  He went on to become the LT at EWU and is now with the Patriots organization.  

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be and why?

Russell Wilson because of his ability to use his feet to make plays.

Do you have any pre-game rituals?

Not really, just stick to the same warmup and make sure I say a prayer before every game.

As a small school football player what obstacles do you feel you have to overcome?

Just getting the chance to play in the first place was a challenge.  Coming from a high school of 100 kids or so made college football a long shot.  Once I got here at EOU, however, the biggest challenge is playing with so few resources as a team.  You learn to embrace it, but it’s always hard to accept at first when you see the big universities with everything they need and more while the small school struggles to get by.

What is your biggest strength?

My biggest strength is I respect others and value coaches insight.  I am very coachable and willing to learn and adapt. On the field, I would say my biggest strength is a quick release, and mobility.

What is your biggest weakness?

I’m pretty reserved and quiet.  It’s a different style than most NFL coaches are used to. On the field, I have little experience working under center.  That would be new for me to learn.

If I were a GM and gave you a second to sell yourself, what would you say?

I’m a small school kid who has had to overcome not getting many opportunities all his life.  When the opportunity comes, however, no one will strive for it as much as I do.  I love proving to people I can play, and I am willing to be coached and learn the ways of the next level.  

Who was your favorite player and/or NFL team growing up?

Brett Favre and Shaun Alexander/ Seattle Seahawks

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would you choose?

Jackie Robinson, Peyton Manning, Noah from the Bible.

With your first NFL paycheck what would you buy?

I would definitely have to go out and buy some new clothes and accessories for sure, freshen up the wardrobe a little.  

Rapid Answers:

• Who will win the Super Bowl? Seattle Seahawks
• Whose better Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?
• Better Running Back Adrian Peterson or Barry Sanders?
• Better safety Eric Weddle or Ed Reed?
• Better linebacker Ray Lewis or Luke Kuechly?