Seeing Zach’s Score 2017 rookie card on Panini’s redemption site for a really great value cinched it for me, so I decided to go ahead and nab this and 2 other autographs from their warehouse.
After a quietly outstanding rookie season in 2017, Zach settled in at RILB, starting 14 games, and posted his first 100+ tackle campaign for the Texans. In Week 10 against the Browns, he picked off Baker Mayfield and returned the pass 38 yards for a TD. He then followed up his banner 2nd season, by finishing first in the AFC in combined tackles in 2019 with 144. Zach continues to fly under the radar but impress nonetheless. As the Texans and their defense fell apart in 2020, Zach led the NFL in tackles with 164 (106 solo), lodging 3 sacks, 2 pass deflections and a forced fumble from LILB. The team has opted to move forward with Cunningham as they convert to a 4-3 defense in 2021 under new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith.
Dexter Wright played for NC State from 2014-2018. He played in 36 games and recorded 121 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, 6 pass deflections, an interception, and 2 forced fumbles, from the strong safety position. He was not selected in the 2019 NFL Draft. Afterwards he signed with the Houston Texans, where they converted him to inside linebacker, but did not make the squad. Currently he is a free agent.
Don Trull played football for the Baylor Bears from 1961 to 1963 where he was one of the top quarterbacks in the SWC, if not the nation. He set SWC records for completed passes (174) and yards (2,157) in one year. He capped his 1963 season with 2,157 yards and 22 TDs (which led the nation) and a 14-7 win over LSU in the Bluebonnet Bowl. A smart and alert quarterback, Trull excelled at calling plays and audibles at the line of scrimmage.
Don was selected by the Houston Oilers in the 1964 NFL Draft. He’d be groomed to be the heir apparent of the Oilers behind ageless George Blanda for the next 3 years. In 1966, Don saw action in 5 starts, posting 1200 yards and 10 TDs to just 5 picks, however he finished 0-5. He also rushed for 7 TDs on 38 carries. After 3 more games in 1967, he’d be traded to the Boston Patriots for the remainder of the season.
Trull returned to the Oilers in 1968, where he really had the best season of his career as a starter- posting a 3-1 record, with 864 yards passing, and 10 TDs and 3 interceptions.
After a down year in 1969, Don played in the Canadian Football League the next two years for the Edmonton Eskimos. Allowed to take the starting reins for the Esks, he threw for 2455 yards and 12 TDs on 364 attempts to 185 completions. After one last season in the CFL, Don was off the football grid coaching at Arkansas until he was lured back by the WFL in 1974, where he saw limited action for the Houston Texans/ Shreveport Steamer.
Don lives in Houston now where he is an ambassador for the NFL Houston Texans organization. In 2013, he was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame, and he was involved with the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show for many years. I got Don’s card after I found out he was an ambassador for the Texans. I hoped to catch him at one of the team functions where they sign for fans, but since nothing every popped up, I just went ahead and sent this out right at the beginning of the COVID crisis.
NFL G/GS
ATT
CPD
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
77/18
637
276
3980
43.3
30
28
61.6
RUSH
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
123
428
3.5
14
23
CFL G/GS
ATT
CPD
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
N/a
465
237
2932
51.0
12
27
N/a
RUSH
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
44
65
1.5
1
30
WFL G/GS
ATT
CPD
YDS
PCT
TD
INT
RAT
N/a
31
16
117
51.6
0
2
N/a
RUSH
YDS
AVG
TD
LG
2
2
1.0
0
2
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
