The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Degree in hand, Quinney explains decision to leave football behind
In January, Zach Quinney was a football player and graduate student at Georgia Tech. He had started the previous three seasons at left tackle and planned to compete to do so for a fourth season this fall.
After completing his business degree in December, he was enrolled in a master’s degree program in the school of building construction. And then a phone call came out of the blue measur- ing his interest in a job open- ing that was highly tempting.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Quinney told The Atlanta Journal-constitution. “I wanted to play again, but at the same time, I was pretty beat up.”
This week, as the Jack- ets progress through their third week of spring practice, Quinney has been learning to manage logistics and oper- ations for Norfolk Southern railway facilities. After completing training, he’ll head to Charleston, S.C., to begin his career as an assistant oper- ations manager. Protecting QB Jeff Sims’ blind side has given way to ensuring ship- ping containers make it onto the appropriate truck beds.
“Walking into grocery stores, somebody would see me and say, ‘Oh, you must play football,’ ” Quinney said. “Now I have to say, ‘Oh, well, I used to.’ So that’s been different.”
Quinney’s decision serves as a reminder there is far more to each player than what is visible in 12 Satur- days in the fall. His health was a factor. Last year, he tore a ligament in his thumb in the fourth game of the season, played for another three games and then had surgery during an open week. Back-to-back postponed games gave him extra time to recover, and he played
with his thumb in a cast for the rest of the season.
The previous season, he injured his wrist in presea- son camp and started all 12 games before having surgery.
“None of those were career-ending injuries,” Quinney said, “but my body just wasn’t feeling too good.”
He weighed the toll football was taking on his body and the fact that, while he had dreamed of playing professionally, “I’m not one of those guys where it’s ‘NFL or bust,’ ” Quinney said. On top of that, the job was appealing. Quinney interned in 2019 with a rail terminal oper- ator (ITS Conglobal) that works with Norfolk South- ern. From classes, Quinney had an interest in operations and logistics, and the intern- ship confirmed it.
“From that point on, I knew that that’s really what I wanted to do,” he said. “So when (Norfolk Southern) reached out to me about this job, I had to take it.” Also, the salary “is more than I would expect,” he said. Still, he called it a stressful decision.
He had played football since he was 6, he said, even- tually becoming a two-time all-state lineman at Savannah Christian Prep. A starter in
Tech’s past 34 games, Quinney was not a star but played with consistent effort and was voted a captain.
Because of the NCAA’S granting fall- and springsport athletes with an extra season of eligibility, Quinney actually could have played two more seasons and become a rare five-year starter, although he said he likely would have completed his Tech career in the 2021 season had he stayed.
“I love everything about (football),” he said. “The main thing was just my teammates, and in particular the offensive line (meeting) room. There’s really just something special about all of us, and we’re really, really, really close. I’m still in touch with everybody. But having to leave and not getting to sit in the meetings and get all the inside jokes and everything, that’s probably been the hardest part.”
Quinney played at 305 pounds, propped up by an extremely high-calorie diet. This week, he said he was around 270 pounds and expected his weight to keep dropping. “That’s the best part about all of this,” he said. “I don’t have to keep eating.”