The Gramblinite

Issue date: 10/4/07 Section: Sports

He is 6-2 and he weighs 200 pounds. He wears No. 26 and is often referred to as "Pit Bull." Born on April 21, 1985, Zaire Wilborn started playing football when he was five years old.

"When I first started, I loved running with the ball," Wilborn said. "Eventually when I got older I started putting on weight and when I got to Grambling the coaches felt that cornerback would be the best place for me to be."

Born and raised in Houston, the soft-spoken senior realized that football would be his future when he received his first scholarship letter.

"I took football serious in the 10th grade, but I still did not know what I wanted to do," Wilborn added. "I knew I wanted to go to college, but it did not hit me until I got a letter from UCLA."

"After that, more and more came in and I knew that college was possible."

Being a top prospect was not an easy task for Wilborn. After his grades started to fall his last years in high school, Wilborn chose Grambling because he felt it was the best place for him to be.

"I was looking at Michigan State," Wilborn said. "When Grambling called, I knew I wanted to come."

"I love Grambling," Wilborn added. "It hit me when I was playing in the Bayou Classic. My first year we went 6-5, but when Bruce Eugene came back [the following season] and we were winning all those games it hit me. And now I am really enjoying myself."

After college, Wilborn expects to take his talents to the NFL.

"I was talking to coach Albert Lewis who played in the NFL for 13 years," Wilborn said. "One day he threw the ball at me and I caught it and he asked me, 'What does that mean to me?' He emphasized that this ball could change my life and from then I was motivated to take it to the next level."

Zaire Wilborn has played 32 games in a Tiger uniform. He has 177 career tackles and was second on the team with 80 tackles (37 solo) last season.

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