Austin Zavala was set to transfer from Citrus College to Campbellsville University in Kentucky, on a full athletic scholarship. Although it was not part of Zavala’s original plan to go to Campbellsville University.
Zavala came to Citrus College as a rookie from Chino Hills High School and joined Citrus’ football program.
In his collegiate career so far Zavala has 113 completions total and 233 attempts, giving him a 48.5 completion percentage. He has amassed 1,563 yards traveled and averages 156.3 yards per game.
However, in spite of his effectiveness on the field, Zavala didn’t start his football experience as a quarterback.
“My first year playing I was 7, and I believe that I played Center and Defensive tackle,” Zavala said in an email on May 8th
Zavala started playing football as a child and has played as a center and defensive back. He’s played in a few other positions on the field, but has been most effective as a quarterback.
He said he stayed with football and played as a quarterback for Chino High School. During this time there, Zavala amassed 1,748 yards in total and averaged 158.9 yards every game. He had a total of 128 pass completions with 12 of those passes contributing to passing touchdowns and 11 total interceptions.
“I wanted to earn a full scholarship to play quarterback for a school that wanted me,” Zavala said.
He plans to finish playing football in college while taking classes at Campbellsville University as a kinesiology major.
Zavala said he wants to become an offensive coordinator at the collegiate level. An offensive coordinator is the person that handles the offensive portion of a football team. The offensive coordinator calls for plays during the game, manages all players and coaches for the offense, as a result to adapt to the opponent’s defensive strategy and much more.
Zavala said he leads by example, causing him to constantly put forth maximum effort. He said he is always working on himself and striving to become better.
“Being a quarterback is all about the blame; you’ll be blamed in a good way after a win and in a bad way after a loss,” Zavala said. “It’s what comes with the position.”
Zavala’s leadership extends well beyond the field. He said he’s grinded with almost the same exact teammates during his time at Citrus. Him and his teammates lifted weights and conditioned through the winter cold and summer heat.
“I’ve built some of my closest friendships at Citrus College,” Zavala said.
Football is a tough contact sport. A certain level of conditioning and strength training are required to perform at the optimal level. Real game scenarios, running drills and weight training is only the tip of the iceberg of what Citrus’ football program endures for a win.
Head coach Ron Ponciano puts the team through intense workouts and conditioning in order to maintain a level of health throughout the team. Ponciano thinks highly of Zavala.
“Austin’s passion and commitment will be extremely hard to replace,” Ponciano said.
Zavala’s work, grind and mentality left a memorable impression for Citrus’ football program and the coaches and athletic staff.
“Austin Zavala has been a key ingredient to the last two seasons where we won 14 games,” Ponciano said in an email on May 14. “He cared deeply about his academics and was always the first to arrive and the last to leave when it came to working out.”
Zavala said his Citrus College experience was filled with dedication, being the lead example to his teammates and the players who come after.
“Over the years, I’ve learned that people will follow if you lead by example and are the hardest worker in anything you do,” Zavala said.
