Zendejas followed his older brother Tony and accepted a football scholarship from the University of Nevada.[2] He was named a starter at placekicker as a freshman, after his brother graduated. He made 22 out of 27 field goals and 35 out of 37 extra points.
As a sophomore, he converted 19 out of 24 field goals, 50 out of 54 extra points, while setting a conference and school single-season record with 107 points.
Zendejas during his career was named to three All-American teams. He still remains the All-time leading scorer at Nevada with 385 points. In 44 games, he made 80% of his career field goals (72 of 90), 96% of his career extra points (165 of 171), scored 385 points and did not have a field goal blocked.
In 2007, he was inducted into the University of Nevada Athletics Hall of Fame.[4]
His brother Tony played professional football. His cousins Joaquin, Luis and Max also had success in professional football.[1] Zendejas and his brother Tony owned mexican restaurants in southern California.[8]
Death
On December 19, 2018, while sitting in a car with his suspected girlfriend at around 1:19 am, Zendejas was beaten in a hotel parking lot in Chino Hills, California by the woman's boyfriend. He died shortly after at the hospital, aged 54.
Ivan Mejia, 44, was booked on suspicion of murder in Zendejas' death, and detained at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, California.[9][10]
