By Marc ZarefskyThe Daily Northwestern
When the Saints come marching into Chicago to face the Bears in the NFC Championship this weekend, it will be a homecoming of sorts for New Orleans rookie Zach Strief.
Strief was one of the most successful linemen in Northwestern history, becoming the first offensive lineman in 22 years to earn All-America honors. The 6-foot-7 349 lbs. lineman became the most recent Wildcat to be drafted to the NFL when the Saints picked him in the seventh round (210th overall) in last year’s draft.
“I’m certainly excited to come back to Chicago,” Strief said. “(The Bears) have had a great season. I know they have a very strong defense, and it will be a tough test for us, but I think it’s a team that we can match up with.”
The Saints (11-6) became the feel-good story of the NFL this season, bouncing back from a 3-13 campaign last year that saw them without a true home stadium in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to become NFC South Division Champions.
“For Zach to be a part of that in his rookie year, that’s a great opportunity for him,” NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “There was no player in our program more dedicated to being a great leader than Zach Strief. Every day he worked hard to be as strong of a leader as he possibly could.”
Strief began this season on the inactive list, but was given the opportunity to start the team’s eighth game in a 31-14 win at Tampa Bay, and has dressed for every game since.
“It’s a big difference between playing in college when you’re playing a sport while you’re going to school and going to the NFL, where it’s your job,” Strief said.
Strief credited former NU coach Randy Walker for influencing him, both athletically and personally, and helping prepare him for the NFL.
This return to Chicago will be more enjoyable for the former Wildcat, who was last in the area in July for a memorial service for Walker, who died of a heart attack June 29.
“You just never imagine something like that happening,” Strief said. “I couldn’t count the number of times something’s happened down here and I’ve wanted to call (Walker) and ask, ‘What should I do’ or ‘What do you think about this,’ or just keep him updated.”
Another major adjustment was living in the South, and specifically adjusting to life in the Big Easy post-Katrina.
Strief, an Ohio native, had never been to New Orleans before being drafted, and was shocked at the devastation caused by the hurricane.
“Driving down, I kind of assumed that it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was portrayed as being, but it was so much worse than I could imagine,” Strief said. “And there are places here that are completely decimated still today that don’t look like they’ve been touched.”
Progress to rebuild the city has been slow, but conditions are better than when Strief first arrived. Since then, the trolley system is active again, and stores and gas stations are now able to remain open past 6 p.m.
Along with these physical improvements, the success of the Saints has restored the moral to a fallen community.
“It’s really become more than a football game for a lot of people down here, and the Saints are more than a team,” Strief said. “I think it’s more of a representation of what the city could become.
“I think that as much as guys want to get to the Super Bowl and as much as guys want to do well, everyone wants to (win) because the city needs it and the city wants it, and they deserve it.”
Reach Marc Zarefsky [email protected].
