Incoming Utah freshman defensive back Terrell Burgess knew he was part of the seventh-best recruiting class in the country in 2016. As he stepped onto campus in Salt Lake City there was one particular player on the roster who was hard not to notice.
He could have easily been mistaken for an upperclassman, but Burgess was surprised to discover it was a member of his incoming class.
That physical specimen was Zack Moss.
I think initially I was like, ‘Wow that’s a big 18-year old man right there,’ Burgess said. He’s a pretty big human. That was my initial reaction. The more I got to know him he was a normal guy. But initially I was like, ‘Geez, this guy has been in the weight room since he was like two.’ He was just really big, but he was a cool guy who was a normal football player.
Moss was already a strapping 5-9, 205-pound teenager. Though he did not take on the lead back role as a true freshman with senior Joe Williams ahead of him on the depth chart he found his way into 10 games and was used a good deal in short yardage situations.
The way we looked at him we knew if we needed a few yards he would get the job done, said Burgess. It was nice being on defense knowing if it was 3rd-and-3 we knew Zack would get the first down. So we never had to worry about that.
And even though Moss was waiting his turn behind Williams, his goals for his time at Utah were clear in his mind and were made readily known to his new running backs coach Kiel McDonald, when he arrived on campus in 2017.
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