Frank Zombo wasn’t always as comfortable with his starting role at defensive end this season.

After starting the year with nine tackles at Kansas, the redshirt sophomore from Sterling Heights had only eight in his next three games combined.

But as the season progressed, Zombo transitioned into one of the most valuable elements of CMU’s defense. He leads the team with 7.5 sacks and is tied with linebacker Ike Brown with 10.5 tackles for loss. He’s also made 60 total stops this season.

“He’s got a very good work ethic – it’s very important to him,” said coach Butch Jones. “He’s got good instincts, and he’s got good quickness, good agility; he’s very athletic.”

Some of that athleticism comes from his past playing experience at tight end, where he caught 118 passes for 1,800 yards in his career at Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights.

But in college he was seen as a defensive player, and has put the necessary work in to fill an important vacancy left after the departures of Dan Bazuin and Mike Ogle.

Zombo posted his first two sacks last season at Kentucky in his first career start for an injured Bazuin. His performance opened the door for his emergence this season. But early knee problems set back his progress.

“Frank’s development was set back a little bit because he missed all of spring football, so he really didn’t have it settled into his system,” Jones said. “He was kind of forced right into it in August.”

Zombo wasn’t able to get his first sack of the season until Sept. 29 against Northern Illinois on Homecoming. But since then, he’s been on a tear. He had the first interception of his career against Army the following week, one of seven turnovers the defense forced that day.

And starting with Oct. 20 at Clemson, Zombo went on a three-game stretch in which he had at least one sack. He had two sacks in road games at Kent State and Akron.

“I just try to anticipate that snap, to try to get an advantage – that’s what it all starts with,” Zombo said. “Then I just try to work my hands and just get that outside rush as soon as I can. And then hopefully that quarterback still has the ball when I come around the edge.”

Zombo said he felt a lot more a part of this season’s Mid-American Conference Championship than he did in his brief playing time last year. The CMU defense shut down the RedHawks in the first half, and even though Zombo only had one tackle, he hurried Miami quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh three times.

“I’m a lot more proud of it this year – I felt like I worked a lot more for it,” Zombo said. “When I wear that ring now, I’m going to be a lot prouder. I put a lot more sweat and blood into it.”

And only a sophomore, Zombo is sure to become a force to be reckoned with in the seasons to come.

“Frank has really continued to develop and improve every day and every game,” Jones said. “We’re excited about him.”

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E-mail the author: Daniel Monson