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TOM ZIPPERLY
Cornerback
1971 / 1974
Plantation, FL
Biography
A standout in both football and track at Plantation High, Zipperly caught 19 passes for 287 yards as a senior. USC assistant Rob Brown signed him with the impression that he could play wide receiver, running back or defensive back at Carolina. Zipperly began his career as the starting tailback on the 1971 freshman team, rushing for 387 yards and six touchdowns. He had a standout day against the Citadel freshmen, rushing for two scores and catching a 49-yard TD pass from Dobby Grossman. He was shifted to the defensive secondary in fall camp in 1972 and started four games that year at a defensive halfback (cornerback) position. The highlight of his season was returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown against N.C. State, tied for the fourth longest kickoff return in USC history. Spring practice in 1973 saw Zipperly return to offense as Coach Dietzel hoped to use his speed on that side of the ball, and he was the starting right halfback before a toe injury in fall camp slowed him. He eventually returned to defense after Jay Lynn Hodgin blossomed in his place and started four games at cornerback. Zipperly left spring practice in ’74 as a starter in cornerback but the Gamecocks’ 0-5 start that year saw him shifted to halfback on offense midway through the year.
Prior Schools
SchoolLocation


Roster Listings
YearRosterNumPosHtWtYrGmsGS
1972 1972 Media Guide 43 DB 6-0 176 So
1972 Program vs. Florida State 43 DB 6-0 170 So 9 9
1973 1973 Media Guide 43 HB 6-0 178 Jr
1973 Programs vs Ohio, Miami (OH), Houston 43 CB 6-0 175 Jr 4 4
1974 1974 Media Guide 43 DB 6-0 178 Sr
1974 Program vs Georgia 43 DB 6-0 180 Sr
1974 Fall 1974 43 DB 6-0 180 Sr 1 1
Depth Chart Appearances
DescriptionPositionRank
1972 Media Guide Left Halfback Starter
1973 Media Guide Right Halfback 2nd String
11/17/1973 vs. Florida State Right Cornerback Starter
1974 Media Guide Right Cornerback 2nd String
9/28/1974 vs Georgia Right Halfback Starter
Rushing
YearAttYdsAvgTD
1973 9 13 1.4 0
1974 4 10 2.5 0
Tot 13 23 1.8 0
Rushing from Play-by-Play
YearAttYdsAvg1DNeg RushNR%Stuff%10+ Yds10+ %20+ Yds3D Conv%TD
1974 1 1 1.0 0 0 100.00 0.0 0 0.0 0 0
Success Rate from Official Play-By-Play Stats
YearPass PlaysPass SRPass SPPRush PlaysRush SRRush SPPRecv PlaysRecv SRRecv SPPRecv FC%Tot SPPSPP/Play
1973 9 0.00 -7.14 1 0 -1 0 -8.14 -0.81
1974 1 0.00 -0.75 0 -0.75 -0.75
Defense
YearSoloAstTklTFLSacksIntPBUQBHFRFFBKIPCDSRZSIPPYPT
1972 18 9 27 0.0 1 0 0 19 4 1 45.22 6.63
1973 0 0 32 0 1 1 0 1 3.67 7.83
1974 3 9 12 0.0 0.0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 6.5 17.33
Tot 21 18 71 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 22 5 2 55.39

IP - Impact Plays; CDS - Conversion Down Stops (3rd & 4th Down); RZS - Red Zone Stops; IPP - Impact Play Points; YPT - Yards Per Tackle
Kickoff Returns
YearRetYdsAvgTD
1972 12 339 28.3 0
1973 5 110 22.0 0
1974 6 96 16.0 0
Tot 23 545 23.7 0
Games Started
DateOpponentPosition
1972-09-09 Virginia Left Halfback
1972-09-16 Georgia Tech Left Halfback
1972-09-23 Mississippi Left Halfback
1972-09-30 Memphis Left Halfback
1972-10-14 Appalachian State Left Halfback
1972-10-21 Miami (Ohio) Left Halfback
1972-11-04 Wake Forest Left Halfback
1972-11-18 Florida State Left Halfback
1972-11-25 Clemson Left Halfback
1973-09-21 Houston Right Halfback
1973-10-20 Ohio Right Cornerback
1973-11-10 Appalachian State Right Cornerback
1973-11-17 Florida State Right Cornerback
1974-09-28 Georgia Right Halfback
Single Game Rushing Stats
SeasonGame DateOpponentAttYdsTD
1973 1973-09-15 Georgia Tech 4 -2 0
1973-09-21 Houston 5 15 0
1974 1974-10-26 North Carolina 1 1 0
1974-11-16 Wake Forest 3 9 0
Scoring Plays
DateOpponentQtrTimeUSCOppPlay
1972-10-28 N.C. State 2 10 14 Tom Zipperly, 98-yd kickoff return (Tommy Bell kick)
Defense - Tackles For Loss
YearDateOpponentDownTo GoSideYdlinePlay
1972 1972-09-30 Memphis 3 10 MEM 28 Paul Wilson loss of 2 on pass from Rick Strawbridge (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-14 Appalachian State 1 10 USC 45 Haugabrook rush for loss of 3 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-04 Wake Forest 1 10 WFU 23 Campbell rush for loss of 2 (Tom Zipperly, Neville Files)
1972 1972-11-04 Wake Forest 1 10 WFU 31 Ken Garrett rush for loss of 2 (Phil Wallace, Tom Zipperly)
Defense - Passes Broken Up
YearDateOpponentDownTo GoSideYdlinePlay
1972 1972-09-09 Virginia 2 11 USC 43 Davis pass for Sullivan incomplete (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-23 Mississippi 1 10 UMS 43 Weese pass for Berry incomplete (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-30 Memphis 1 10 MEM 24 Al Harvey pass for Stan Davis incomplete (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-28 N.C. State 3 32 USC 43 Bruce Shaw pass for Pat Kenney incomplete (Tom Zipperly)
Defense - Interceptions
YearDateOpponentDownTo GoSideYdlinePlay
1972 1972-10-21 Miami (Ohio) 3 16 USC 47 S.Williams pass intercepted by Tom Zipperly at SC 32, returned 16 yards
Defensive Plays
YearDateOpponentDownTo GoSideYdlinePlay
1972 1972-09-09 Virginia 3 10 UVA 28 Sullivan, 16-yd pass from Davis (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-09 Virginia 1 10 UVA 22 Sullivan, 9-yd pass from Davis (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-09 Virginia 2 4 USC 41 Merritt rush for no gain (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-16 Georgia Tech 2 9 GAT 22 Mike Oven, 5-yd pass from Eddie McAshan (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-16 Georgia Tech 1 10 USC 24 Greg Horne rush for 21 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-16 Georgia Tech 1 3 USC 3 Greg Horne rush for 2 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-23 Mississippi 2 4 UMS 45 Greg Ainsworth rush for 7 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-30 Memphis 3 7 MEM 47 Al Harvey rush for 20 (Tom Zipperly) + SC defensive holding
1972 1972-09-30 Memphis 1 10 MEM 20 Dan Darby rush for 7 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-09-30 Memphis 3 16 MEM 27 Paul Wilson, 9-yd pass from Al Harvey (Tom Zipperly, Neville Files)
1972 1972-09-30 Memphis 1 10 USC 26 Clifton Taylor, 23-yd pass from Rick Strawbridge (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-21 Miami (Ohio) 3 6 MOH 35 Viher, 15-yd pass from S.Williams (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-21 Miami (Ohio) 1 10 MOH 20 Hitchens rush for 2 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-21 Miami (Ohio) 2 8 MOH 22 Hitchens rush for no gain (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-21 Miami (Ohio) 2 11 MOH 26 Harmony rush for no gain (Darrell Austin, Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-28 N.C. State 1 8 USC 8 Bruce Shaw rush for 4 (Tom Zipperly) + SC personal foul
1972 1972-10-28 N.C. State 4 1 USC 23 Stan Fritts rush for 4 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-10-28 N.C. State 1 10 USC 19 Stan Fritts rush for no gain (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-04 Wake Forest 1 10 WFU 27 Clayton Heath rush for 2 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-04 Wake Forest 2 6 WFU 37 Clayton Heath rush for 14 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-04 Wake Forest 1 10 WFU 20 Ken Garrett rush for 9 (Phil Wallace, Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-11 Virginia Tech 1 10 USC 23 Don Strock scrambles for 11 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-11 Virginia Tech 1 10 USC 33 Utz, 16-yd pass from Don Strock (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-18 Florida State 1 10 USC 16 Hodges Mitchell rush for 11 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-18 Florida State 2 8 FSU 14 Joe Goldsmith, 18-yd pass from Gary Huff (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-18 Florida State 1 10 FSU 32 Barry Smith, 17-yd pass from Gary Huff (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-25 Clemson 3 6 50 Davis rush for 13 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-25 Clemson 2 8 CLM 22 Ken Pengitore rush for 3 (Tom Zipperly)
1972 1972-11-25 Clemson 2 11 CLM 40 Ken Pengitore rush for 3 (Tom Zipperly)
1973 1973-10-13 Wake Forest 2 12 USC 18 Harsh rush for 5 (Tom Zipperly)
1973 1973-10-13 Wake Forest 3 3 USC 39 Carlton rush for 4 (Grahl Phillips, Tom Zipperly)
1973 1973-10-13 Wake Forest 2 9 USC 23 Carlton rush for 8 (Tom Zipperly); Carlton injured
1973 1973-10-13 Wake Forest 2 6 USC 30 Smith rush for 10 (Tom Zipperly)
1973 1973-11-03 N.C. State 1 10 USC 38 Charley Young rush for 11 (Tom Zipperly)
1973 1973-11-03 N.C. State 1 10 USC 48 Willie Burden rush for 9 (Tom Zipperly)
1974 1974-09-21 Duke 2 4 USC 34 Bumgardner rush for 6, fumble, recovered by (Tom Zipperly)
1974 1974-09-21 Duke 3 4 DUK 22 Martinez rush for 3 (Tom Zipperly)
1974 1974-10-05 Houston 3 3 HOU 41 Laverne, 43-yd pass from Housman (Tom Zipperly)