The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 41 COMMITMENT PROFILE M ichigan offered Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne & Nichols four-star offensive tackle Zak Zinter last summer and immediately became a real option for him. Over the course of his recruitment, Zinter checked out a lot of schools but seemed to be most focused on U-M, Notre Dame, Penn State and home- town program Boston College. He made his way to Michigan a couple of times and eventually realized that Ann Arbor was the place for him. "I've kind of known for a while that Michigan was the place for me, but I wanted to go through the whole process and really see what every- one had to offer," Zinter said after committing May 16. "I wanted to go through the process and really make sure that Michigan was it. "I told Coach [Ed] Warinner and Coach [Jim] Harbaugh that I wanted to use my official visit as a celebra- tion, not a recruiting trip because I was committing. They went nuts and it was awesome; it was really good." Before Warinner was hired, he was billed as a great position coach, but was never really touted as a big-time recruiter. However, his efforts on the recruiting trail have been out- standing since joining Harbaugh's staff and Zinter picked the Wolver- ines largely in part because of how Warinner does his job and develops players. "Me and Coach Warinner talk a couple of times a week and we re- ally have a great relationship," Zinter said. "I love the way he coaches, too. I camped with him and loved that. I was at a practice and got to see how he coached there. "He's just a great coach overall. I was looking at some of his stats be- fore he got there, too. Two years ago, they had a terrible sack percentage and it drastically improved because of him — just crazy props to him." Recruits know they can't pick a school just because of an assistant coach because of how quickly staffs turn over. Nothing indicates that Warinner is looking around, but luckily for Zinter the entire package at U-M was everything he desired. "Michigan just had everything I wanted and more," he said. "Obvi- ously they have great academics, which is a big deal for me. I want to study business and sports manage- ment, and they have the No. 3 busi- ness school in the country; it's the No. 1 public university. "On top of that, it's big-time football. It doesn't get much bigger than Michi- gan. Just the brotherhood I felt with everyone, too. I talked with a bunch of guys and they really love it there. "Also, the coaches, Coach Warin- ner and Coach Harbaugh. The entire staff can develop me, so that I can get to the next level. That's pretty much it — it was everything." If Warinner can take Zinter's game up to another level, the Massachu- setts native could end up being spe- cial at Michigan. He's already consid- ered the No. 16 offensive tackle and No. 147 overall prospect nationally, and he really stood out last fall and not just because he's bigger than ev- eryone else, at 6-6, 300 pounds. During his junior season, Zinter was named first-team All-State by USA Today. He was also a member of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association All- State football team, which is selected by some of its member coaches, and was recognized as the Lineman of the Year for 2018 by the All-New England Preparatory School Athletic Conference. — Brandon Brown 'Brotherhood' Leads Zak Zinter To Michigan FILM EVALUATION Strengths: Zak Zinter has great size, is very mobile for a big lineman and really thrives at just about every position along the offensive line. He played center as a freshman, tackle as a sophomore and guard as a ju- nior, which shows just how versatile he is despite being 6-6 and over 300 pounds. Areas Of Improvement: What he needs to work on depends on where he'll play at Michigan. If it's on the edge, he'll have to work on his pass sets and his foot quickness. If he ends up at guard he's going to have to get stronger despite being powerful and large already. If he winds up at center, he'll have to refamiliarize himself with the en- tire process of snapping the ball, all while learning calls and getting comfortable being the potential leader of the offensive line. M i c h i g a n P l a y e r C o m p a r i - son: Zinter looks like he could be a slightly more powerful and ver- satile version of Andrew Stueber (2017-current). Like Stueber, Zinter has good length, above-average athleticism and a big, barrel-like up- per body. Even though he hasn't play a ton yet, Stueber has been in the mix at right tackle and that seems like Zinter's most likely position at the next level. — Brandon Brown Zinter is ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's No. 16 offensive tackle and No. 147 overall prospect. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Zinter "It doesn't get much bigger than Michigan. Just the brotherhood I felt with everyone, too. I talked with a bunch of guys and they really love it there."