Honoring the Seniors: A-Back Tony Zenon

As a Recruit:

Zenon was an under the radar recruit coming out of the 2010 recruiting class. He had offers from Central Michigan, UAB and then FCS Georgia Southern. The only other power five school to even give Zenon a look was Clemson, but being that he wanted to stay closer to home Georgia Tech was the obvious choice. Zenon actually wasn't a Georgia native by choice. In the summer of 2005, Tony was forced out of his New Orleans home by Hurricane Katrina. This landed the running back two and a half hours south of Atlanta in Albany, Georgia, where he shined as the primary weapon in a wing-T offense at the Deerfield Windsor Academy.

As a Senior, Zenon lit up on the Georgia Independent School Association circuit with 2,263 yards on just 244 carries with 27 touchdowns. He finished his high school career with 5,684 yards and 65 touchdowns, and yet despite those numbers and a 4.4 40-yard dash, Zenon was rated as a mere two-star prospect by Rivals and 247Sports. Zenon was one of the last signings in what would be a deep class for Georgia Tech. Even though that 2010 class was ranked 43rd in the country by Rivals, this class would hold key players like Quayshawn Nealy, Synjyn Day and Jeremiah Attaochu.

As a Player:

Zenon's career got off to a slow start. He was redshirted his freshman year at the beginning of the 2010 season because of injury issues, a problem that would plague the talented young running back during his Georgia Tech Career. The following season in 2011, Zenon would see limited action with only 15 carries and 86 yards. He would get hurt after the ninth game of the season and would miss the remainder of 2011, with this 73-yard touchdown catch against Middle Tennessee being Zenon's only real highlight:

In 2012 as a sophomore, Zenon saw his touches go up slightly. He had 31 carries for 198 yards and a touchdown with seven catches for 195 yards. His biggest game came against a 42-36 overtime loss to Miami, where he scored his only touchdown and accumulated 131 total yards. Nearly a third of his production in 2012 came against the Hurricanes.

In 2013 the injury bug came back to bite Zenon again, forcing him to miss two games of his junior year. His carries dropped from 31 to 14 for a career low 35 yards. He caught one lone pass for six yards and for the first time in his career didn't score a single touchdown.

After paying his dues for four years, Zenon had his best season in Midtown in 2014. Zenon had 45 carries for 294 yards and four touchdowns with eight catches for 161 and another touchdown. He started 12 games and became a key cog in a very deep backfield for the Orange Bowl Champion Yellow Jackets. His best game came against Tulane in his old hometown, where he helped Georgia Tech pull away from a feisty Green Wave squad with 62 rushing yards and two touchdowns (at 1:10 and 1:30).

Unfortunately Zenon's career would end the way it started, with an injury. A torn ACL in the ACC championship game would end Zenon's career, rendering him unable to go for Georgia Tech's 49-34 Orange Bowl win against Mississippi State on December 31st. Zenon would graduate from Georgia Tech with a management degree.

Thank you for all of your hard work and perseverance in your time at Georgia Tech! Good luck with whatever direction you decide to take in life!