Bombers Trade for Jeff Zimmer
April 17, 2002 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
Winnipeg Blue Bombers News Release
WINNIPEG, MB - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers continued their relentless pursuit of top-flight talent by trading today for hard-hitting linebacker and long snapper Jeff Zimmer.
The Blue & Gold got Zimmer (6-1, 235, Regina '01, DOB: Mar. 3, 1977) in a trade with the Calgary Stampeders for future considerations. Zimmer is a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) All-Star with great CFL potential.
"We are pleased to add another CIS All-Canadian to our roster," said Brendan Taman, Winnipeg's vice-president of player personnel. "We are pleased Jeff will have an opportunity to make our team. We've followed his career since his junior days and we're impressed with his progress. With his development we feel he can be one of the 19 active Canadians on our roster."
The Stampeders originally selected Zimmer in the 5th Round (38th Overall) of the 2001 Canadian College Draft after he posted some impressive numbers at the CFL's 2001 Evaluation Camp in Montreal. He attended Calgary's training camp, where the coaching staff tried to convert him to fullback. The experiment didn't work and Zimmer returned to university.
"I'm surprised," Zimmer said of the trade. "I didn't know it was going to happen but I'm very happy about it. I'm looking forward to being a member of a good football team."
Zimmer played three years of college ball with the University of Regina Rams for head coach Frank McCrystal. Zimmer was a CIS All-Canadian and a Canada West All-Star in 2001. Many observers admire Zimmer's passion for the game and his coaches have termed him the "heart and soul" of the team's defence.
He was 1st in the nation in defensive tackles with 74, seven ahead of his nearest competitor. Not surprisingly, he was the Canada West Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the President's Trophy - an award that is awarded annually to Canada's top defensive player.
Zimmer was a key factor in Regina's dramatic 2000 football season - a year where the team posted three last-minute, come-from-behind playoff victories en route to an appearance in the Vanier Cup Championship.
Placing 4th in the CIAU in defensive tackles with 56, he was named a Canada West All-Star for his stellar play. His talent did not go unnoticed, as scouts invited him to the 2000 Canadian Football Varsity Stars All-Star Game in Edmonton.
Before participating in university football, Zimmer was a Canadian junior football legend. As a member of the Regina Rams junior squad, he led the team to three CJFL Canadian Bowl titles - in 1995, 1997 & 1998. Twice the CJFL named him its Defensive Player of the Year - in 1997 & 1998.
All-star accolades fell Zimmer's way often during his junior career. He was a CJFL First-Team All-Star in 1997 and 1998. He was also a Prairie Football Conference First-Team All-Star those same two seasons.
He also mopped up many teams awards during his tenure with the Rams. He was the Crestview Chrysler "Ram Tough" Award winner as the team's Most Outstanding Linebacker for three straight years (1997, 1998 & 1999). He won Regina's Grothe-Barber Man's Shop Award in 1997 and 1998 as the team's defensive point leader.
He won the Kenridge Man's Award as the team's Most Valuable Player in 1998 and the F.W. Barber Award in 1999 as the club's leading tackler.
As a result of his excellent play, Zimmer was invited to both the 1997 and 1998 Saskatchewan Roughriders training camps as a junior developmental player.
Zimmer is a Regina native who graduated from LeBoldus High School before studying science at the University of Regina.
Canadian Football League Stories from April 17, 2002
- Football 101 Offered - Montreal Alouettes
- Ottawa Renegades Add Two Quarterbacks - Ottawa Renegades
- Matt Sheridan Re-Signed - Winnipeg Blue Bombers
- Bombers Trade for Jeff Zimmer - Winnipeg Blue Bombers
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