Quarterback Tom Zetts finished a brilliant career as the YSU football team’s career record holder in passing yards, completions, attempts, completion percentage, touchdowns, total offensive yards and games started.
Excelling off the field as well, he was also a three-team First-Team Academic All-Gateway selection and a three-time FCS Academic All-Star.
For his career he had 654 completions, 1,094 attempts, 7,643 yards, 51 touchdowns and a 59.8 completion percentage while starting 47 games at quarterback. In his final three years he posted an impressive 26-10 record as a starter while guiding the Penguins to Gateway Conference championships in 2005 and 2006. He had more than 1,800 yards passing in all four of his full seasons as YSU’s QB.
His rushing numbers improved dramatically from his first two years to his final two campaigns. In his final two seasons, he rushed for 547 yards on 139 carries and scored five touchdowns. For his career he had 648 yards rushing on 233 attempts while scoring six times.
As a senior, Zetts was named a second-team all-conference selection, First-Team Academic All-Gateway, Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-District, FCS Academic All-Star and a member of the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society. He was also named YSU’s Athlete of the Year for 2007-08.
For the year, he completed 173-of-277 passes for 1,845 yards and seven touchdowns. He set a school record with his 62.7 completion percentage. He also had 213 yards rushing on 57 attempts and a touchdown.
The best game of the season was in the final contest of his career against Western Illinois. He completed 23-of-32 passes for 298 yards and two scores. Earlier in the year he had a 245-yard effort on 25 completions at UNI. He had a pair of TD tosses in a win over Stony Brook.
As a junior, Zetts guided the Penguins to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2000. In 14 games, he threw for a career-best 2,086 yards while completing 171-of-301 passes and 14 touchdowns. He had his best season on the ground, rushing for 334 yards on 82 attempts and four TDs.
He will best be remembered for leading the Guins to a come-from-behind victory over James Madison in the playoffs in primetime on National Television. Against the Dukes, he completed 24-of-40 passes for a career-high 314 yards. YSU trailed 31-20 in the fourth quarter at Stambaugh Stadium before scoring twice in the final 8:06 for a 35-31 YSU victory. He also had a pair of touchdown passes in a playoff win over Illinois State.
In the regular season he threw four touchdown passes against Maine. He had the best rushing performance of his career running for 110 yards on 12 carries in a key win at No. 3 Illinois State that sparked the Penguins to their lone outright Gateway Football title.
He was an Honorable-Mention All-Gateway selection while being a First-Team Academic All-GFC pick and a member of the FCS Academic All-Star squad.
His sophomore year he led the Guins to an 8-3 overall mark and a share of Gateway title. It was the school’s first conference championship since 1987.
He threw for 1,949 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 154-of-258 attempts (59.7 percent).
During the campaign he threw for more than 200 yards a school-record-tying six times. Against Liberty, he tied the school mark with four touchdown passes. He had a season-high 291 yards and two touchdowns at Southern Illinois. In a memorable rout of Western Kentucky to end the season, he threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns.
As a redshirt freshman in 2004, he completed 154-of-255 passes for 1,822 yards and a career-best 16 touchdowns in 11 games. His completion percentage of 60.4 percent was a school record for a freshman. For his efforts, he was named to the Gateway’s All-Newcomer team.
He threw for a season-best 286 yards at Western Kentucky completing 28 passes. During the game he completed a school-record 15 consecutive throws. He had three touchdowns in the season finale against Missouri State.
His YSU career started in 2003 when he played a series late in the game against Edinboro. However, he suffered a broken collarbone allowing him to medical redshirt the year.
Prior to coming to YSU he was a quarterback at Boardman High School. For the Spartans he threw for 2,802 yards, including 1,468 as a senior and 1,450 as a junior. He was also a standout baseball player. At Boardman he was an all-state third baseman.
He graduated from YSU with a degree in Math Education and went on to receive his master’s in Education Administration.
He is a high school math teacher at Boardman High School and works as a football official throughout the region on the high school and collegiate levels.
Tom and his wife, Brittany, reside in Boardman. Their first child, a daughter, Mariella, was born on Sept. 13.
