Sept. 2, 2009
Greg Zingler: Born To Be A Midshipman By Scott Strasemeier Associate AD for Sports Information
Navy senior quarterback Greg Zingler is one of the few Navy football players that grew up rooting for the Midshipmen. Born in Annapolis and raised in Severna Park, Zingler has been around the Naval Academy all his life.
"As a little kid we lived in Southwoods, which is right near the stadium, and then in the first grade we moved to Severna Park, so I've always been around the atmosphere and it was something that I always wanted to do," said Zingler.
While growing up in Severna Park, Zingler had plenty of role models to look to if he ever had any questions about Academy life.
His father, Greg, is a 1983 graduate of the Naval Academy and has been the building manager of Alumni Hall since its inception in 1991. His uncle, Chuck (dad's brother), is a 1980 graduate of the Naval Academy, while Greg's mother Kathleen had two brothers attend Service Academies (Dan O'Hara, Navy '83 and Jerry O'Hara, Air Force '84).
"Hearing all the stories at family reunions and vacations and seeing the comraderie they had together, you could tell the Academy was a special place," said Zingler. "They never had any horrifying stories or anything negative to say."
Zingler grew up around Navy athletics. He rarely missed a Navy basketball game at Alumni Hall and was a constant at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"I went to a lot of Navy basketball games as a kid and T.J. Hall was my hero," said Zingler. "I never played basketball and I was never any good at basketball, but watching T.J. Hall was always a great thrill for me. I had an autographed picture of him and everything.
"I also idolized Ben Fay on the football team," continued Zingler. "My dad used to do some things with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and we would always go and hang out with him and Ben Fay kind of took us under his wing and would play with us and hang out with us."
Zingler was a two-sport start at Severna Park High School. He earned three varsity letters in football and baseball and was the team captain for both teams as a senior.
On the gridiron, he earned Second-Team All-State honors as a senior, as he led the Falcons to a county championship with a 10-2 record. Zingler was equally proficient on the diamond, helping Severna Park to a state championship his junior year and being named the all-county catcher as a senior.
"I devoted more time and effort to football because that was what I wanted to do in college, but I was probably a better baseball player," said Zingler.
Zingler briefly considered going to an Ivy League school to play football, but in the end no school could match what Navy had to offer and Zingler doesn't regret his decision.
"My sophomore or junior year in high school when football started to get a little more serious, I started looking at some Ivy League schools where I could just go and play football. But the Naval Academy was always my first choice," said Zingler. "My first two years at Navy I was a little stressed out about things and I was hearing from my friends that were at civilian universities how much fun they were having. But I just tried to keep it in perspective and think about the big picture. The longer you are here, the less regrets you have."
Zingler has no regrets on the football field either, even though he has only played in one varsity game in his career and served as the scout team quarterback the first three years.
"Everybody comes here as a competitor, but thankfully with the success of the program we have been able to bring in better and better athletes," said Zingler. "I was kind of behind the power curve in terms of athletic ability in the first place and I've learned over my years here that just getting the opportunity to be on a Division I football team is something that a lot of guys never get a chance to do. Even if I never played a down, and I was fortunate to get a couple of snaps last year against SMU, I'm still very thankful to have had the opportunity to play on a Division I football team."
Zingler credits his teammates for helping him stick it out through the first couple of years when it would have been easier to hang up the pads and concentrate on his academics.
"There were a lot of times my first couple of years where I just had so much going on that I would think I could just make my life easier by giving up football and not spend the four hours a day we spend on football," said Zingler. "But then you think about the guys on the team and how they are going through the same stuff you are going through and how they have been with you through the good and bad times. That is just huge to have that support and it helps you keep your enthusiasm and motivation to play football."
Zingler's attitude and willingness to help the team wherever he is needed has certainly impressed the Navy coaching staff and his fellow teammates.
"Greg is the consummate team player and will do anything he is asked to do," said Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo. "He goes back and forth running the scout team for the defense to serving as a backup for the varsity offense when we need him over there and he never says a word. During camp we had one player from each position give a talk and Greg was the one that represented the quarterbacks and he did a phenomenal job talking about what it means to be a team player and being unselfish. A lot of people say that, but he actually lives it and believes in it."
"Greg has a great attitude. He is a team player, a program kid, he's a kid that is all in," said Navy offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ivin Jasper. "I feel for him from a personal standpoint because he has done everything he's supposed to do and I know that he wants to play. But at the same time, he understands that the other guys are just better and more athletic. For a kid to sit back and go through four years of knowing that and dealing with it is amazing. It says a lot about the kid. He is going to be a great officer. I have all the respect in the world for Greg Zingler."
"Greg is always there to reinforce the fundamentals of the offense," said Navy junior quarterback Ricky Dobbs. "He has a great work ethic on and off the field and he sets a great example for all the quarterbacks. It says a lot about him as a person that he has stuck it out for four years. He is truly dedicated to the Brotherhood that is Navy football."
Although Zingler's success on the football field has been limited, he has been an all-star in the classroom where he has earned a 3.86 GPA in one of the more difficult majors at the Naval Academy, Mechanical Engineering.
"Severna Park High School is one of the better public schools in the state for academics and I was able to take a lot of honors and AP and college prep classes in high school and that prepared me for the academic load," said Zingler.
"Doing well here academically is all about getting into a routine," continued Zingler. The Academy manages a lot of your time for you. You have three or four hours at night to get your homework done and if you don't get it done, then you aren't going to get it done. I've been able to manage my time and my personal strategy has been to hit the ground running right from the start of a semester. If you work really hard the first six or seven weeks of the semester, you are setting yourself up to do well come final exam time. The mandatory study hall that the football staff sets up for the freshmen and sophomores really helped me as well. It kept me in the library and got me in a routine that I'm still in today."
Zingler will graduate this spring and apply for graduate school at Georgia Tech to get his masters in Mechanical Engineering. He plans on service selecting Marine Corps Aviation.
"I'm not sure if I'm going to make the military a career or not," said Zingler. "If graduate school and Marine Corps Aviation both work out, then by the time my initial commitment is up I will have already been in for 10 or 12 years so I might as well make it a career. I have also thought about becoming a commercial airline pilot or getting into coaching."
No matter what avenue he chooses, there is no doubt that his family will be extremely proud of him.
"Greg has handled everything thrown his way over the last four years," said the elder Zingler. "He never complained about playing time or not getting an opportunity or anything like that. He has shown great maturity and he will be an outstanding officer. The greatest gift I've ever received is being able to watch him grow over these past four years on a daily basis."
