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FOOTBALL RECRUITING: Zuzo heads West, signs with Nevada
PLYMOUTH – Brenton Zuzo will be kicking it in the desert the next few years,
Zuzo (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) Plymouth’s all-state placekicker, signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Nevada this week, snatching the Wolf Pack’s final scholarship off the table and becoming the second kicker from his school to land at the Division I level since 2011.
Connecting on 9-of-11 field goal attempts this past fall, with a long of 48 yards, his squad went 9-3 and won a district title. He was also a standout punter, posting an average boot of 39 yards and a long of 71 yards.
Most scouting services ranked Zuzo, a two-year all-league selection in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association, in the Top 30 at his position nationally.
Plymouth is turning into a special teams’ paradise.
Two years ago, the Wildcats produced golden-legged Kyle Brindza, who after helping lead Plymouth to a spot in the state championship game, signed with Notre Dame, where he’s currently kicking for the Fighting Irish.
Macomb Lutheran North’s J.J. McGrath, the state’s other high-profile prep kicking prospect in the Class of 2013, accepted a preferred walk-on slot at Michigan back in January.
Nevada finished 7-6 on the gridiron last season. When Zuzzo descends on the school’s campus in Reno this summer he will be suiting up for a freshly-minted regime. The Wolf Pack hired former Texas A&M assistant Brian Polian as its new head coach earlier in the year.
Prior to coaching at Texas A&M, Polian was an assistant under current San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh at Stanford.
There were no players hailing from the state of Michigan on Nevada’s roster in 2012, but the Wolf Pack have benefited from local prep talent in the past. Current NBA forward Javale McGee of the Denver Nuggets played hoops in high school at Birmingham Detroit Country Day before starring in college with the Wolf Pack. McGee was a first-round NBA Draft pick in 2008.
Expect 2014 to be another banner year for prep placekickers in Metro Detroit. Shane Hynes (Clarkston) and Kyle Bambard (Walled Lake Western) are two of the best in the incoming senior class and both are being recruited by Division I colleges.
