Nice article, yet, no answer on pronunciation…
# ‘So many blessings’: Shane Zylstra perseveres injury, right where he needs to be with Lions
Full article at Link
He opted to go with in-state powerhouse Minnesota State University (Mankato), which made it to the NCAA Division II playoffs in four of Zylstra’s five seasons.
Zylstra smashed every relevant receiving record at Mankato, finishing his career with 227 catches for 4,297 yards and 64 touchdowns. Adam Thielen previously had the most catches (192) before Zylstra passed him. Zylstra, Thielen and offensive lineman Chris Reed, currently a free agent, are the only Mankato alumni in the NFL.
Zylstra waited a year for the next offseason to roll around. He couldn’t be drafted this time, but he could still make himself an appealing prospect. His agent worked the phones, offering Zylstra’s services to quarterbacks who needed targets to throw to at their pro days. That got Zylstra in front of NFL scouts at Michigan State (catching passes from Brian Lewerke) and North Dakota State (as a target for Trey Lance).
An idea floated to Zylstra from his agent during this: Becoming a tight end. He already had the height, at 6-foot-4, to play the position, and his time working construction beefed him up.
Zylstra had a few teams, including the Lions, interested in adding him to their practice squads after the Vikings waived him during final roster cuts. He was cautious about Detroit, however. He heard “horror stories” from former teammates about what went on in the building.
His agent convinced him it was a new era with Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes.
“You heard … just not great things,” Zylstra said. "My agents had met some of the personnel and the coaches here, and they said, ‘No, it’s completely different. The culture is really turned around.’
This is all after he started the season on the practice squad. He made himself, as Campbell put it, “hard to ignore” during practice.
“We felt like he’s a pretty good athlete, and every week he was giving our defense fits on the scout team," Campbell said of Zylstra’s promotion. “And that’s what we were looking for through camp, through training camp. And I told him the week before we elevated him, I said, ‘I see you, and you’re getting better and better and better.’ … And so we felt like it’s time to give him another opportunity, and he’s been good for us.”
Through it all — being under-recruited, going undrafted, working construction, nearly taking a job in the medical field and, most of all, the injury — Zylstra wouldn’t change a thing. He’s right where he’s supposed to be, contributing on a 10-1 team about to play the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving.