Senior tight end will suit up for Cure Bowl and fight through the pain for his final football performance

The 6-foot, 3-inch, 250-pound tight end gingerly took a seat in front of the media Monday before taking the practice field for the final time at Liberty University. He sighed in reflection before answering the reporters’ questions.

For some college football players, a bowl game is about preparing for a final collegiate showcase before making a run at professional football. For Flames redshirt senior tight end Zachary Foutz, Saturday’s Cure Bowl game is about finishing well.

“We’ve talked about this for years and I talked about this when I came here,” Foutz said. “This is something not all teams in the FBS get to do. We’ve been afforded this opportunity and I know the guys are excited to go out there and give it our best.”

The Flames’ 2019 football roster is comprised of many talented players, several of which are receiving professional football interest. But every coach and high-profile athlete would agree that their production would be limited without the selfless play of teammates such as Foutz.

“I often say to our players we should not offer up unto this place (Liberty), in our faith with God, or to our families anything that costs us nothing,” Flames Head Coach Hugh Freeze said. “(Foutz’s) time here has cost him a lot of pain, a lot of time in the treatment room. I don’t know how many surgeries he’s had.”

The Cave Spring High School alum was a vicious linebacker before his college career, totaling almost 200 tackles in his final two seasons of high school. The former four-year high school starter was ranked the No. 42 Virginia recruit by the Roanoke Times coming out of high school.

In his five years at Liberty, Foutz has exemplified what it means to be a champion for Christ on the football field. Due to numerous injuries, life after football may be painful for the Roanoke native.

“He’s going to have a hard time,” Freeze said. “He has very little cartilage in one knee. He has paid a price to take this program to a bowl game.”

Freeze raved about his tight end’s willingness to do whatever it takes to see the Flames succeed. Foutz seldom has the ball thrown his way, which is rare for a tight end in modern football. But the Master of Public Health major views his role on the team as a way to serve the men around him.

“He’s a team guy, he’s Liberty first and he’s teammates first,” Freeze said. “What can I do and what’s my role? You never have to doubt the effort he’s going to put in to accomplish that.”

Foutz’s role in the Cure Bowl will be to finish strong while pushing through the pain. He will be playing through a back injury that has limited his productivity in the passing game but has not altered the big blocker’s ability to assist in the run game.

Freeze, as well as the entire Flames family, will be cheering Foutz on for his final football game.

“He continues to fight,” Freeze said. “I couldn’t be more pleased, and I’m glad that he’s had success this year.”

Following Wednesday afternoon’s practice in Orlando, Freeze informed the media that Foutz seemed to be feeling better. As game day approaches, the Flames certainly hope that is the case.