Tom Zetts
Football
2007-08
Quarterback Tom Zetts finished a brilliant career as the Youngstown State football team’s career record holder in passing yards, completions, attempts, completion percentage, touchdowns 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. 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.
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 536 yards rushing on 233 attempts while scoring six times.
As a senior, Zetts was named a second-team all-conference selection, earned First-Team Academic All-GFC laurels, was tabbed Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-Distrcit while being named an FCS Academic All-Star and a member of the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society.
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.
As a junior, Zetts guided the Penguins to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2000. In 14 games, he threw for 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 scored four TDs.
He will best be remembered for leading the Guins to a come-from-behind victory over James Madison in the playoffs. Against the Duckes he completed 24-of-40 passes for a career-high 314 yards. He was an Honorable-Mention All-Gateway selection while being a First-Team Academic All-GFC pick and was named to 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. 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.
As a redshirt freshman in 2004, he completed 154-of-255 passes for 1,822 yards and a career-best 16 touchdowns. 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.
A graduate of Boardman High School, he is the son of Tom and Jackie Zetts. Majoring in Integrated Mathematics (Secondary Education) he owns a 3.68 GPA.
