Throughout our undrafted spotlight series, which is in its second year, some excellent strories have been brought to the attention of readers. The one depicted here is remarkable and it has nothing to do with the game of football.
Born in Denver, Colorado, Zack Golditch is a 6-foot 6-inch, 295-pound offensive lineman looking to continue his football career as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers. But no matter where his journey takes him, he’ll be thankful that the journey continues.
After a solid high school career at Gateway High in Aurora, he committed to playing for the Colorado State Rams. As a senior in 2017, he was named to the All-Conference first team as a guard in the Mountain West Conference.
But all of that came close to not ever happening.
It’s a story you’ve probably heard by now and if you haven’t, one that you definitely should. Even if you have, it’s worth hearing about again.
Nearly six years ago, on July 20, 2012, Golditch was at an Aurora movie theater when a mass shooting occurred. Though he wasn’t in the theater where the shooting originated, he was in the one next to it. A bullet came through the wall that separated the two theaters, striking the then 17-year old Golditch in the neck.
In 2012, Zack Golditch sustained a bullet wound at the showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado. He recovered and continued playing high school football, dreaming of one day reaching the NFL.
On Saturday he landed a free-agent deal with the Chargers. pic.twitter.com/Ryt2wtwtUt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 29, 2018
Golditch is now a man who knows how lucky he is to have the chance to not only continue playing football, but living his life. The confidence he plays with is something that will inspire those around him, and give him a chance to play football at the professional level.
He echoed those sentiments when speaking to Lindsay Jones of USA TODAY earlier this year:
“I was a 17-year-old kid going to see a movie, next thing you know I might not have come home that night. For me to still be able to play football, to be able to be a normal person and an able-bodied person is great. I take nothing for granted. This opportunity to continue to live my life today is amazing.”
But how about Zack on the football field? After all, whether or not he can continue his playing career will be dependent on his ability to help the team.
His measurables don’t jump off the page. He doesn’t possess great athleticism or elite strength. However, he can push guys around at the point of attack and is a little quicker than one would think. He could help the team in the running game at some point in his career.
He’s also versatile, having played at four of the five offensive line positions in college.
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My Take
Golditch is a tough, gritty football player who won’t win with athleticism, but rather instincts and intelligence. His story is not only amazing, the experience he went through is something he’s tied into his game on the field.
Golditch projects best as a guard at the next level and the Chargers should have plenty of options at that spot. It will be tough for him to stand out in camp this year.
He does have something though and with the right amount of time to develop his skills, could become a solid rotational offensive lineman down the road, even if that’s not in Los Angeles.
He has an outside shot of landing on the team’s 10-man practice squad this season. Even if that doesn’t happen, Golditch has the right mindset to become quite successful wherever his continued journey takes him.