One of the big men up front who clears the way for the Bulls' "Four Horsemen" running backs is offensive lineman Erik Zeppuhar, an All-American Academic Athlete and one of the funniest players on the team.
Born in Allison Park, Pa., Zeppuhar said he dreamed of playing college football as a child.
"It has always been my lifelong dream to play college football," said Zeppuhar. "Most kids dream of playing in the NFL. I always dreamt of playing on Saturday afternoons. Once I visited Buffalo and saw that many of the players and I had the same goals, I knew this was the place I was going to be playing at."
Zeppuhar's resume includes the most starts of any Bull returning from 2003, including 41 starts through last Saturday's game against Kent State. After missing the 2004 spring training due to shoulder surgery, Zeppuhar has helped the rushing attack a great deal in 2004.
"I knew I could come back from the surgery. I wanted to leave on my own terms and not because of my shoulder. It's feeling pretty good, though every now and then it lets me know it's there," he said.
Zeppuhar led the 2003 Buffalo offensive line in paving gaping holes that assisted UB in gaining over 2,000 yards on the ground, the first time they have accomplished that feat since joining the Mid-American Conference.
Zeppuhar has many unique accomplishments off the field.
He once ate 118 chicken wings (his favorite food) to win a Pennsylvania wing-eating competition. When asked how one actually eats that many of those little hot-sauced covered pieces of heaven, he simply replied, "I guess you can say I put my mind into it."
Zeppuhar is known as "Zepp" around Alumni Arena by fellow teammates, friends, and the coaching staff. "Zepp" said he likes to be the locker room clown, and he said he wants to be remembered as that fun-loving guy who loved playing for UB.
He is extremely grateful for the company he shared during his four seasons with the Bulls.
When a player works hard and has only a handful of victories, it may seem tough to find the silver lining, but Zeppuhar said he has no regrets about playing for the Bulls
"The underclassmen have a lot of potential. They just need to stay on course, put in the hard work and we should start to look like a successful program," said Zeppuhar. "We have ten defensive starters returning. Though J.J. (Gibson) is a tough player to replace, the defense will be strong and have the experience they need to be solid."
When Zeppuhar walks off the field on Nov. 19 at UConn it will be the final time he plays for the Bulls. His hard-nosed play on the field as well as his pure comic antics off the field will be greatly missed by the program.
Zeppuhar's future plans include finishing a graduate degree at Buffalo, while keeping up on his UB football game as a spectator.
"I am working on my degree," he said. "It's a two year program for me. I will continue to follow UB though. I will be the team's biggest fan."
