For Coco there was nothing sweeter than to go to Stanford
Zach "Coco" Lukrich committed Monday, one day after finding out he had been admitted to Stanford University.
“Once I got offered by Stanford, I knew that if I got in I would go there and that’s what I told the other coaches who were recruiting me. They understood completely, which was definitely relieving. It wasn’t too hard a decision once I got admitted."
He felt comfortable choosing a school he never visited in part because he was born in San Francisco and is familiar with the Bay Area. The most important factor was the classic one-two punch of Stanford's academics and an opportunity play football in the Pac-12 was too sweet a deal to pass up for the guy who goes by Coco.
Lukrich reports offers from Washington State, Boston College, ASU, Army, Air Force and several MWC schools. Stanford's staff is the only one that recruited the 6-3, 260-pound lineman to play fullback while everyone else wanted him on the offensive or defensive line.
“A lineman’s dream is to play in the backfield, right? I’ve known all along that the schools recruiting me for the offensive line, that once they see me on campus that I don’t really look like the typical lineman with my body type. I think(fullback) is a better fit because I don’t think I would be able to put on a ton of great weight to become an offensive lineman.”
Lukrich will also practice to line up as an extra lineman in jumbo sets.
It's immediately apparent when you watch his Hudl why coaches think he can make plays on defense, or in Stanford's case out of the backfield. He is a big kid who can move.
And Lukrich knows he's fortunate to have Hudl video from games this fall because the state of Utah had a season when other surrounding states postponed their seasons. He also took advantage of a great opportunity during the offseason to work out in a friend's barn that they added equipment to over the months. By the end of the offseason they had the setup of a full gym.
"There were ton of kids coming at one point and they had time slots," Lukrich said. “I love lifting; it’s something I do for fun."
Lukrich also likes to camp, fish and "hang out with the boys" during his spare time. He does stand out in Park City in that he doesn't like skiing, although he admits his reasoning is a bit flawed for someone who suits up for football games.
"To be honest, it’s putting on the ski equipment for me. It’s just not comfortable," he laughed.
A guy who goes by the nickname "Coco" is comfortable with being himself. He got that name from his uncle before he was even born. Coco has twin fraternal siblings Joey and Morgan and they're four years older. When their mother was pregnant with Zach the twins usually referred to him as "Baby" because the family hadn't chosen a name yet. One day his uncle, who also goes by Coco, visited and jokingly suggested they name him that. It stuck, even if it's not his legal name.
The Lukrich siblings help push each other a bit academically as well. Joey plays football at Drake and Morgan attends the University of Wisconsin. When Coco put together his application he decided to take the ACT, even though Stanford does not require test scores for this year.
Joey and Morgan got the same score in high school and retook it to break the tie. So, who ended up with the best score among the three siblings?
"I did, finally (with a score of 30)," Coco laughed. "I just took it to see what I would get because I wasn’t planning on submitting my scores.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have great parents who encourage me to always try my best in school. It was natural for me. That led me to make academics a priority.”