Peppi Zellner
Hunndens Guiseppi "Peppi" Zellner is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football for the Fort Valley State Wildcats.
Early life
Zellner attended Mary Persons High School, where he lettered in football and basketball. In football, he was an All-Area selection and an All-District selection, and Prep Football Report named him as an All-Dixie selection. After his senior season, he participated in the Florida-Georgia All-Star Game. In basketball, he was an All-Area selection and played in the North-South All-Star tournament.Although he received a scholarship from the University of Georgia, academic problems forced him to join Georgia Military College. He began as a strong-side linebacker and was moved to the defensive line as a sophomore. He registered 129 tackles and 15 sacks in his two junior college seasons.
In 1996, he transferred to Fort Valley State University, but eligibility problems limited his playing time to only 3 football games, collecting
18 tackles.
In 1997, he focused on basketball, starting at forward, averaging 10.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots, while helping the school win its first conference championship since 1969.
In 1998, he returned to play football at defensive end, posting 60 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 3 sacks. He received All-American and Southern [Intercollegiate Athletic Conference|All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference] honors.
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Zellner was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1999 NFL draft, after impressing in the scouting combine, recording the second fastest 40-yard dash time, first in the broad jump and first in the 20-yard dash among defensive linemen. As a rookie, he had 10 special teams tackles. Against the Atlanta Falcons, he posted his first career sack, while adding a quarterback pressure and 2 tackles.In 2000, he played in 12 games, registering 13 special teams tackles, 16 defensive tackles, 2 sacks and 3 quarterback pressures. He missed the last 4 games, after being placed on the injured reserve list with a torn left anterior cruciate ligament he suffered during a practice.
In 2001, a season-ending back injury to Ebenezer Ekuban, allowed him to start 15 games at right defensive end, setting career-highs with 46 tackles, 3 sacks and 22 quarterback pressures. The next year, he only started 2 games and registered 29 tackles. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the season.