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HUSKY PROFILE / ELLIOTT ZAJAC
by Mason Kelley
t was a warm, sunny afternoon in the
friendly confines of Husky Stadium, as
Elliott Zajac and his fellow Huskies prepared
to wrap up their first fall scrimmage
in preparation for the season-opening
game with Michigan at the Big House
in Ann Arbor.
Thing were moving along briskly until Kevin
Ware laid a crushing block on defensive lineman
Manase Hopoi, knocking him onto Zajac’s
right ankle. All was silent as the senior offensive
guard lay on the turf clutching his leg.
“I thought I was done for the season,” Zajac
says. “I thought I would have to fight with the
NCAA for a sixth season, which is virtually
impossible. Luckily that
didn’t happen.”
The threat of a
career-ending injury
prompted Zajac to reflect
on his experience with
the game he loves.
It should have started
in Little League, but even
as a child, Zajac was
deemed too big to play.
“The first time I ever touched pads and a
Elliott Zajac
helmet was my freshman year in high school,”
he says.
From the day he arrived at West High in
Bakersfield, Calif., people could tell that Zajac
was a player. After his sophomore season, Zajac
transferred from smaller West to larger
Bakersfield High School in a concerted effort to
earn a college scholarship.
“BHS was always the dominant school in the
area, and West High was on the downside,”
Zajac says. “I took two buddies with me, and
two other guys from West transferred to different
schools.”
Making the move to Bakersfield High
brought with it some tough times for the Zajac
family, which was criticized by the media. Innerdistrict
transfers were a hot-button issue in
Bakersfield, and Zajac was one of the first kids
to do it.
“We did it for football,” says Elliott’s mother,
Donna. “West High was not performing on the
field. They had been good in the past but we
knew he would get better coaching at
Bakersfield. It was the best chance that he had
to get a scholarship.”
6 HUSKIES Gameday
At 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, and capable of bench-pressing more than 500 pounds, Zajac
is a formidable force on the field.
Also factoring in the Zajacs' decision was
the experience of Elliott's older sister, Andrea,
who was having to pay her own way through
college.
“My sister never got a chance to get a scholarship,”
he says. “She graduated high school
early and when she went to college, she paid
her own way. In her eyes, I have gotten things a
little bit easier, even though I’ve earned it,
because I am on a full-ride. I want to get the
most out of my chances here and do it for her.”
Andrea insists that having to pay for her own
college tuition has not left her with any grudges
towards her brother.
“I really enjoy going to see his games,” she
says. “He is turning into a really good man. I
am very proud of his maturity. He has really got
his head on straight. He understands that there
is another step if he is unable to play football at
the next level.”
Zajac played well enough in high school to
earn the scholarship he sought, with several
Pac-10 schools expressing interest. He wanted
to get out of California, though, which eliminated
many of the Pac-10 powers.
“I made my decision between Washington
and Oregon, and I chose Washington because it
is the evil empire,” he says. “Everyone hates UW
and I like that.”
Since arriving on campus, Zajac has fallen
in love with the weight room, which has turned
him into one of the strongest Huskies ever to
come through the program.
“He is a great kid,” says Husky strength
coach Pete Kaligis, “a kid that has dedicated
himself to this place. That is how our relationship
has been built. He will live and die in here.
This is what has made him a great player. He
has done so much, I can’t say enough about the
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