Zach Skinner

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Zachary Skinner

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No. 94 – Yellowknife Wraiths
Position:	Defensive Line
Personal information
Born:	1/29/1997 Memphis, Tennessee
Height:	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight:	300 lb (136 kg)
Career information
High school:	Whitehaven High School
College:	University of Tennessee Knoxville
ISFL Draft:	2022 (S7) / Round: 2 / Pick: ##OVERALL_DRAFT_PICK##
Career history
Portland Pythons Yellowknife Wraiths (2022 (S7)–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career NSFL statistics as of Week 17, 2023
Total tackles: 27 Pass deflections: 0 Interceptions: 0 Forced fumbles: 0 Sacks: 4 Total touchdowns: 0
ISFL coaching record
Regular season:	11-3
Postseason:	2-0
Career:	13-3
Player stats at ISFL.net

Zach Skinner (born 1/29/1997) is an American football Defensive Lineman for the Yellowknife Wraiths of the National Simulation Football League (NSFL). He played college football for Tennessee Volunteers before entering the professional ranks in 2021

Early years

Zach Skinner was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and showed early promise as a football player, as well as a passion for the game. He set numerous records for his high school team, the white haven tigers, and earned a full ride to the University of Tennessee in his junior year. Those records that he set include most touchdowns in a season and career, most sacks in a game, season, and career, and most tackles for a loss in a game, season, and career.

College career

In throughout his collegiate career, Skinner was a star. In two seasons at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, he started 21 games.

In his first season, as a true freshman, Skinner was redshirted as a 250 pound outside linebacker. But in his third game, after their starter and second stringer at left outside linebacker went down, Skinner stepped up, delivering two sacks in the fourth quarter to help lead a comeback win against rival school Florida.

He finished that freshman season with not such stellar production as that first outing, ending up with 11.5 sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, and forty seven tackles. The Volunteers weren't able to contend in a bowl game with their 5-7 record, but he was at least one bright spot, and a sign of things to come.

That offseason, Zach went to work, putting on 30 pounds of muscle and keeping his speed, refining his game in order to prepare. he wanted to win. And as a result, in his second season, Skinner was, in the preseason, hailed as the best player on the team, and he delivered on those expectations, tallying four sacks, three forced fumbles, twenty tackles, and two defensive touchdowns in their first four contests, leading the team to an undefeated record and a number 7 spot on the college football rankings.

Unfortunately, that early-season tear wasn't sustainable. In their next six contests, despite Skinner racking in an additional three sacks and nineteen tackles, the team around him was struggling without his otherworldly production, the squad dropping four of those and having a very narrow margin of +9 total in the two that they won. Due to those games, the Volunteers quickly fell out of contention for a playoff spot with their unimpressive record of 6-4.

Despite this, Zach Skinner was garnering national attention after generating buzz as a freshman. His production was unbelievable, and he helped rally the Vols to finish the year with three straight wins, including a win over Oregon in their bowl game. Skinner posted his best collegiate game in that bowl, dominating with his second 3 sack performance, five tackles for a loss, twelve tackles, and a forced fumble that he recovered for his third touchdown on the year.

Overall, Skinner finished that season with 14.5 sacks, 20 tackles for a loss, and sixty total tackles. After that impressive campaign, Skinner decided to leave the college ranks to play in the DSFL.

College career statistics

1. 1. PLAYER## left college with a career total of ... blah blah blah.

Career statistics			Tackles	TFL	Sacks	Season	Games
2016 (S1)	TEN	8	47	16	11.5	1	8
2017 (S2)	TEN	13	65	20	14.5	2	13

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	Arm length	40‑yd dash	20‑ss	3‑cone	Vert jump	Broad	BP	Wonderlic
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	290 lb (132 kg)	37+2⁄8 in (0.95 m)	4.82 s	4.50 s	7.66 s	29.4 in (0.75 m)	11 ft 3.6 in (3.44 m)	25 reps	19

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In Skinner's first season, he was picked up halfway throughout the year by the Portland Pythons, and while he wasn't immediately as dominant as he had hoped, he was a key cog in helping the team get to the playoffs on the back of an improved defensive front. Notably, it was said of Skinner that it was a shame, after he was drafted, because he wouldn't get to experience a playoff run, which was far from the truth. The Pythons, however, lost a heartbreaker in the first round of the playoffs, but it was a sign of things to come.

That next year, after Skinner had been drafted in the second round by the Yellowknife Wraiths, he came back as a much better player, as the Pythons stormed through the DSFL, racking up a 12-2 record, with Skinner notching four sacks and an impressive 14 tackles for a loss in that campaign.

Once he played with the Wraiths, though, he immediately earned a starting job. He played nose tackle in his first year, as the Wraiths had a stacked defensive end room, but still managed to get himself four sacks in that debut year on the way to a second straight championship run, this time in the NSFL.

Professional career statistics

Career statistics			Tackles	TFL	Sacks	Season	Games
2021 (S6)	POR	5	7	2	0	1	5
2022 (S7)	POR	14	31	12	4	2	14
2023 (S8)	YEK	14	27	2	4	3	14

Awards

Team

• NSFC Champion (8): 2019 (S4), 2020 (S5)