Zachary Paul Piller actually started his college football career at Georgia Tech. From 1996 to 1998 he played right guard and right tackle for Steve Spurrier's Florida Gators, where he was a key member of the 1996 Bowl Alliance National Championship team. In 1996, the offense struggled at times when Zach was injured. Without Zach's presence, the opposing defenses harassed Danny Wuerffel and held the offense to uncharacteristically low offensive production, including a narrow victory over 2-win Vanderbilt. Zach was caught in a trash talking battle with some Seminoles on Bourbon Street on New Year's Eve before the 1997 Sugar Bowl rematch of their regular season game. With a convincing 52-20 victory, it appears that Zach backed up his words and helped erase the memory of the 21-24 loss earlier in the season. In Zach's senior season, he was named team captain and earned a spot on the first-team All SEC squad.