Former Blacksburg High School and current Virginia Tech football player took time to sign an autograph to a Hokie fan after the tam’s Spring game.
Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Zach Treser grew up in the shadows of Virginia Tech, cheering for the Hokies and wondering what it would be like to dress in the maroon and orange. After graduating from Blacksburg High School in 2014, he got that chance as a walk-on football player.
“Playing for Virginia Tech has been incredible. My family moved to Blacksburg when I was about seven, and I have been a huge Hokie fan ever since. I grew up watching and looking up to guys like Bryan Randall, Tyrod Taylor and Xavier Adibi, and it’s still really cool for me to be able to play at the same place as those guys,” he said.
The 6’5, redshirt-junior linebacker earned three varsity letters under then-Blacksburg coach Dave Crist. He was a two-time all-conference player including first team linebacker as a senior and was also an excellent swimmer during his time at Blacksburg High, earning three top-four finishes in the state diving event and was a member of the school-record setting 200-Free Relay team.
Although he has not seen much playing time for the Hokies, he still feels like he has had an active role on the team.
“I am continuing to work hard and get better myself, and being the oldest linebacker, I feel like I can really help some of the younger players to grow and develop as well. I would love to be a role model both on and off the field, showing guys how to work hard on the field and in the classroom,” he said.
Treser is looking forward to this fall, hoping to see the field more, potentially on special teams, or as a backup linebacker.
He will graduate next spring with a degree in biological science and a minor in chemistry.
“I am not 100 percent sure what I want to do with my degree yet, but I am thinking about possibly becoming a physical therapist. I think it would be cool to continue to be involved in sports, helping other athletes to treat and recover from their injuries,” he said.
This past year, Treser was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference Honor Roll, which recognized academic excellence by student-athletes during the 2016-17 academic year.
Exactly 278 student-athletes at Virginia Tech made the honor roll comprised of student-athletes who participated in a varsity-level sport and registered a GPA of 3.0 or better for the full academic year.
The conference recognized a record 4,472 student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom during the 2016-17 academic year.
