(Photo: Aaron Suozzi/Icon Sportswire)
Tommy Zbikowski was a fighter. On the football field, in the boxing ring, it didn’t much matter. The hard-hitting safety from the Chicago suburbs loved to compete, and from 2004 through 2007, he gave Notre Dame fans plenty to cheer about.
Known simply as “Tommy Z,” Zbikowski brought a rare combination of toughness, instincts and big-play ability to the Irish secondary. He arrived at Notre Dame in 2003 as an accomplished amateur boxer and outstanding high school athlete. After redshirting his first season, he recorded 70 tackles in 2004. But it was the following year that he really made his mark.
Remember that unforgettable afternoon against top-ranked USC in 2005? With the score tied at 14, Zbikowski fielded a punt at his own 40-yard line, broke three tackles and raced 60 yards for a touchdown. Notre Dame Stadium went absolutely wild, and the Irish suddenly had a 21–14 lead. The Trojans eventually escaped with a 34–31 victory, but Tommy Z had delivered one of the game’s most memorable moments.
And that was hardly his only trip to the end zone. Three weeks later against Tennessee, Zbikowski returned a punt 78 yards and an interception 33 yards for touchdowns. He became the first Notre Dame player in 40 years to pull off that double in the same game. By the time his Irish career was finished, he had scored seven return touchdowns, three on punts, three on interceptions and one on a fumble.
Zbikowski was an All-American and two-time team captain who finished with 300 tackles, eight interceptions and seven forced fumbles. But statistics only tell part of the story. He played with an edge, had a knack for finding the football and always seemed to be in the middle of the action.
And about that boxing career. While still playing football at Notre Dame, Zbikowski made his professional debut at Madison Square Garden in June 2006. With his Irish teammates watching, he knocked out Robert Bell in just 49 seconds. He eventually finished his professional boxing career with a perfect 8–0 record. Not a bad sideline for a college football All-American.
The Baltimore Ravens selected Zbikowski in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft, and he played five seasons in the league before becoming a Chicago firefighter. Today, he’s back home as head football coach at St. Patrick High School in Chicago, passing along some of that same toughness and competitive spirit to a new generation.
In a 2025 interview with Tim Prister of IrishIllustrated.com, Zbikowski credited Notre Dame with helping shape the person he became. “It molded me,” he said, reflecting on an experience that extended well beyond football.
A two-time captain, All-American, undefeated professional boxer and one of the most exciting return men ever to wear the Blue and Gold. Tommy Zbikowski gave Notre Dame fans plenty to remember, and he’s this week’s Fighting Irish Preview All-Time Irish Hero.