Brown linebacker Zak DeOssie grew up around football.
In fact, you might say that DeOssie is just continuing the family trade. He is following in the steps of his father, NFL linebacker and special teams long snapper Steve DeOssie.
The younger DeOssie is starting his career much like his father did.
Both stand-out linebackers got their starts playing for New England universities, with Steve attending Boston College in the early 1980's.
The elder DeOssie went on to play for the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, New York Jets and the New England Patriots, with the highlight of his NFL career coming in 1990 when he was a member of the Giants' Super Bowl XXV championship team.
Though Steve's 13-year NFL career ended with his retirement in 1995, his son's was just about to begin.
Brown's DeOssie started off with 27 tackles and an interception his freshman year for the Bears, and followed that up with impressive sophomore and junior seasons that each earned him a first-team All-Ivy selection.
At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, the senior has an ideal combination of size and athleticism that would make any quarterback nervous on the blitz.
"The quarterback's going to have to make sure he knows when [DeOssie] is hot and when he has protection," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "We're going to have to do a good job when the backs are on him to try to block him and then try to keep him off the quarterback."
DeOssie is coming off a solid performance in the Bears' win over Cornell last weekend, making 12 tackles and one for a loss to hold the Big Red to just 47 yards rushing in the second half of the contest.
The linebacker has been the key component of the Bears defense this season, and is leading the nation in solo tackles with 7.67 per game.
DeOssie, who also like his father is the team's long snapper, leads the Ivy League with 67 tackles, and is tied with Penn's Brian Fairbanks for second in tackles for loss, with 8.5.
"Brown's defense poses some problems for us. . DeOssie's obviously the ring leader," Bagnoli said. "We're really going to have to understand where he is. . He's part of their blitz package, so he creates some tough match-ups for us."
Overcoming DeOssie's defensive presence will be a crucial part of the Quakers' game plan tomorrow, as the senior continues to emulate the success of his father.
