The former Mr. Football finalist missed the entire 2023 season with a lisfranc injury.
FARGO – Hunter Zenzen’s last football game ended with a national championship. In the grand scheme, it was the perfect way to conclude his career.
“When the confetti fell, it was so surreal,” Zenzen recalled. “Having my family there, my brother right by my side, it was just so emotional. After the game, I told myself I wasn’t going to cry. Then I saw my family, and they were all in tears.”
The emotions were overwhelming, as it marked Zenzen’s final game. The Barnesville, Minnesota native and North Dakota State defensive end is retiring due to a foot injury he sustained during fall camp in August 2023.
Zenzen missed the entire 2023 season due to a Lisfranc injury in his right foot. While the surgery healed the foot, he realized it wasn’t suitable for continuing to play football.
“It’s fine for everyday life, but you can’t be pushing around 300-pound guys off the line of scrimmage like I used to,” Zenzen explained.
Zenzen explained that the pain in his foot began shortly after fall camp started. He continued playing through the discomfort during the first four games of the season, but it wasn’t until just before NDSU’s matchup with North Dakota in early October that he realized something was wrong.
“In the back of my mind, I always knew something wasn’t right. So, for a lot of the season, I played through what I could handle. It always bothered me to miss practice, so I didn’t sit out much,” Zenzen shared.
Throughout the season, Zenzen served as a backup defensive end, playing in ten games, recording four tackles, and earning his first career sack during the regular season home finale against Missouri State. After the regular season, Zenzen visited a doctor in the Twin Cities to finally address the pain in his foot.
“The doctor showed me the X-ray and explained what was causing the pain. I asked him what another surgery would entail, and the timeline he gave me just wasn’t realistic,” Zenzen said.
“We train for so many months each year just to play four months of football, and the doctor told me I’d be running by July if we went through with the procedure. I told him that just wasn’t realistic,” Zenzen explained.
It became clear to Zenzen that his football career was over, and the focus shifted to ensuring a good quality of life after football. The doctor made sure to put things into perspective for him.
“He asked me, ‘Do you plan on having kids one day? Would you like to play with them?’ And that really hit me,” Zenzen recalled.
During the bye week, Zenzen had some tough conversations with his coaches. He had another year of eligibility, but stepping away from the game was a significant decision, and it wasn’t easy for him. “It took a lot, and I just hope everyone understands the situation I’m in,” he said.
Zenzen was a standout player in high school at Barnesville, leading the Trojans to their greatest success, including a Class 2A runner-up finish in 2018. He was a Mr. Football finalist in 2019, which attracted attention from college recruiters.
He received several offers from Power Five schools and signed with Iowa State in the Big 12. Zenzen played 24 games for the Cyclones before entering the transfer portal after the 2022 season.
NDSU was one of his final choices, and with his younger brother Kaden on the Bison roster, the decision was clear. His connection with Kaden made the conversation about retiring even more difficult.
“One of the first people I told, even before meeting with the doctor, was Kaden. I told him, ‘I don’t know how much longer I can do this.’ And he said, ‘I’ll be right by your side. There’s more to life than just this,’” Zenzen shared.
Zenzen acknowledges that his time at NDSU didn’t go exactly as he and his family had hoped. While it ends with a national title, the emotions are mixed.
“When I sit in the FargoDome and watch the game, that’s when it will really hit me that it’s over,” he said. “But I have a lot of my best friends by my side, and I’ll always be around Fargo and NDSU football.”
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