4-foot-3 Utah high school football player Zach Schreiter doesn't back down from huge challenges

Video: 4-foot-3 DT Zach Schreiter
See the Utah junior suited up for his team.

The most famous alum of Highland High School (Salt Lake City) is one of football's true giants – 6-foot-4, 345-pound all-pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata.

The school's most well-known current student – thanks to a fantastic story last week by Trevor Phibbs of the Salt Lake Tribune – sits comfortably on the opposite end of the size spectrum.

At 4-foot-3 and 115 pounds, Zach Schreiter hasn't let achondroplasia stop him from suiting up for the Rams' football team. The junior is listed as a fullback and defensive tackle on the team's roster.

Achondroplasia is a rare form of dwarfism. According to a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics, the disorder occurs in just one of every 25,000 people born.



Highland head coach Brody Benson told Phibbs that despite his size, Schreiter's spot on the team isn't a gimmick or inspirational ploy.

"That's the tagline. If you're willing to work hard, this team is going to accept you," Benson told the Tribune. "They have a clear understanding [Zach's] not looking for any handouts. He wants to have the same opportunities these other kids are having."

It would be reasonable to expect Schreiter to be a bit scared going against players much bigger than him. But considering that he has already defeated Hodgkin's lymphoma via four rounds of chemotherapy, there's obvious evidence that he is capable of taking on huge challenges and striving.

MaxPreps photographer Dave Argyle caught up with Schreiter and Highland last Friday for the team's season opener against Olympus. He didn't get any reps in the game but cheered on teammates in uniform during a 5-3 loss.