Brady Zimmerman has grown up in winning football.

More importantly, he has grown up in Northwestern football.

The wins have been remarkable. Three straight trips to the state championship game, a state title and a 46-2 record over Zimmerman’s first three varsity seasons.

But those results tell only part of the story of the Tigers’ senior captain.

Zimmerman has evolved from a young varsity contributor into an all-state performer, a leader and, perhaps most fittingly, a player Northwestern trusts to do just about anything.

Friday night offered the latest example.

In Northwestern’s 28-16 season-opening victory over Valley View, Zimmerman caught eight passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, rushed four times for 25 yards and another score and completed a 24-yard pass.

And that was just on offense.

Defensively, Zimmerman led the Tigers with 10 tackles and recorded a sack, while also contributing in the return game.

That all-around performance earned Zimmerman the first Times News Football Player of the Week honor of the 2026 season.

“I feel like there’s not a favorite. I just love helping the team as much as I can,” Zimmerman said. “Whether that be passing, rushing or receiving, as long as we get that win on the board, that’s all that matters.”

Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder sees that willingness everywhere.

“He just does whatever the team asks of him,” Snyder said. “He’s our long and short snapper. He’s our punt and kick returner.

“I think he enjoys that, and takes pride in just being a football player and being on the field with his buddies all night long, in every aspect of the game. At times, you’d have to drag him off to give him a break.”

Zimmerman’s responsibilities have grown along with him.

He appeared in 15 games as a freshman, took on an expanded role as a sophomore and developed into a standout on both sides of the ball. Now a senior, he is also being asked to lead.

“I feel like the leadership role that I’ve come into is a lot bigger than I had last year,” Zimmerman said. “When my number’s called, I just look to help the team in as many ways as possible. I feel like Friday night I did that.”

Zimmerman is now calling Northwestern’s defense, and Snyder said the two regularly communicate about what the Tigers need.

“He goes from a kid that is just playing and balling out to now we expect him to be a leader, and we expect him to make plays on both sides of the ball,” Snyder said. “That’s just what he needs to be for us — a playmaker, the captain, the leader of the team.

“He’s earned that, and everybody has confidence in him. That’s built over years of doing the right thing all the time.”

Zimmerman had a particularly close example to follow during that development.

As a sophomore, he played alongside his older brother Eli, then a senior, on Northwestern’s undefeated 2024 state championship team.

The brothers are different players, Snyder said, but share a familiar quality.

“The Zimmerman boys are built a certain way,” Snyder said. “Eli was a lot the same. They’re both great players. They’re different players. But I think the thing that’s remarkable for me is just the relentless motor that Brady plays with. His engine just does not ever stop running. He’s going full torque from the opening whistle on.

“That energy that he plays with, and the relentless effort all game long is contagious to our other guys. It elevates our team.”

Now Zimmerman has become the veteran younger players can lean on.

Snyder said the program expects its older players to help bring along the next group, something that begins when fifth-graders are invited into the weight room.

“It’s sort of a buddy system, a big brother system, whatever you want to call it,” Snyder said. “When everybody’s on the same team, everybody’s fighting for one another, and the belief and the trust is there.”

That experience extends beyond leadership.

Northwestern played 16 games in each of Zimmerman’s first three varsity seasons, reaching the state championship game every year. Those 48 games have repeatedly put him in high-leverage situations.

Friday brought another.

After Valley View cut Northwestern’s lead to 21-16 in the fourth quarter, the Tigers answered with a 73-yard scoring drive. Zimmerman caught a pass on fourth down and finished the possession with a 6-yard touchdown run.

“Playing in those three state championships and playing playoff-level football each year, it really helps us in the long run,” Zimmerman said. “We knew we were going to face adversity in that game, and facing it before in previous seasons, I think it really helped us.”

That belief, Snyder said, is built through experience.

“The more you’re in those situations and the more you make plays when you’re in those situations, the more you just have a belief that you’re going to get the job done,” Snyder said. “You’re going to make the play. You’re going to win the football game.”

Zimmerman was once one of the young players finding his place in that environment.

Now he’s helping the next group do the same.

“What excites me the most is that we have a lot of young guys stepping up,” Zimmerman said. “It’s great to see them filling those roles and stepping up like they should be.

“I’m excited for what this year has to offer.”