The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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32 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2024 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL KRIS JENKINS SAYS NO. 1 SEED WON'T MATTER WITHOUT ROSE BOWL WIN Michigan is set for a Rose Bowl matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide on New Year 's Day with a national title trip to Houston on the line. For the Wolverines, this is what the entire season has built up to. But just being there is not acceptable. Michigan is currently 0-for-2 in the College Football Playoff, but it enters this year's field as the No. 1 seed. "It's a heck of an honor, but our biggest mental- ity as a team is that we're not focused on what these rankings look like," senior defensive tackle and captain Kris Jenkins said minutes after the field was announced. "We're focused on the last ones, and our biggest goal is going further than we were last year. "We're really looking forward to this ball game to a man, and we're excited for the opportunity. You can't just focus on the big prize. You've got to focus on the journey and the steps you need to take to get there. Right now, we're focused on the next game, and that next game is with Alabama. We're excited for that." There was a national media narrative that emerged from the reaction video on Sunday that Michigan was let down to see Alabama instead of Florida State in the semifinal. Jenkins put that misperception to bed, and he is among the Wol- verine players that would prefer to play the game as soon as possible. "Seeing their name pop up on the TV gave me goosebumps," Jenkins said. "Having the oppor- tunity to play them first in this bowl game, we're really excited for it. I used to watch the Rose Bowl all the time when I was younger. Excited to have an opportunity to finally play in it." Alabama enters the CFP having won its last six semifinal games by an average of 19 points. Michi- gan knows it is going up against the gold standard of postseason success and hopes that it serves as a passing of the baton. "To be the best, you've got to beat the best, and Alabama's one of the best," Jenkins said. "They've proved it. That means we've got to take this bowl game, we've got to prepare a lot more seriously coming up to Jan. 1. We're willing to take those steps and do it. "It's all about the next game, taking that next step. You know, that next step right now is Ala- bama. Next step is the Rose Bowl game. We have to take that next step and prepare accordingly before we can reach our biggest goals. "We are on a mission, and with that mission, we have got to go on a journey. We've got to get ev- erything done. We have to check off all the steps. You've just got to take it one step at a time." Michigan was favored in last year's semifinal against TCU and fell short in a heartbreaking 51- 45 defeat. Jenkins does not want to experience that deflating feeling again, and that is serving as motivation. "Honestly, the biggest memory is just sitting on that field [after the game]," Jenkins said. "No, we didn't play our best game of football. We didn't leave it all out on the field. Coming into this game, we're just really looking forward to, on all sides of the ball, playing our best game of football, leaving it all out there with no regrets." The No. 1 seed is earned and was a tremendous honor, but the job is not finished. And none of it matters unless Michigan finds a way to get the job done. "It's a great feeling," Jenkins said. "We're hon- ored for that respect, but we've been saying, we're on a mission. It's not going to matter about these rankings, it's going to matter about the last one who's holding that national championship trophy. "We're really looking forward to taking that next step, but nothing's going to matter unless we get that job done." — Anthony Broome WOLVERINE ALL-AMERICANS: ZAK ZINTER A CONSENSUS FIRST-TEAMER Senior offensive guard Zak Zinter, who suffered a broken leg in the Ohio State game and is out for the season, highlighted the list of Michigan players who received All-America honors this postseason. Zinter, a 6-foot-6, 322-pound offensive lineman from North Andover, Mass., was named a consensus first-team All-American after garnering recognition from the Walter Camp Foundation, the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America and Sport- ing News — four of the five groups the NCAA uses to determine consensus All-America honors. The other All-America team — from the American Foot- ball Coaches Association was set to be announced on Dec. 14. Graduate defensive back Mike Sainristil, the MVP of the Big Ten Championship Game, also earned first- team All-America honors from Sporting News. He led U-M with 5 interceptions (including 2 returned for touchdowns) and had 30 tackles, including 4 for loss and 2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles in 13 games. Zinter's classmates, running back Blake Corum and defensive lineman Kris Jenkins, were both named second-team All-Americans, as was sopho- more defensive lineman Mason Graham. Corum, who was tabbed by each of the first three groups, led U-M in rushing (1,028 yards) and scoring (24 touchdowns), less than a year after recovering from a serious knee injury. Jenkins, a senior captain, summed up Michigan's approach to facing Alabama in the Rose Bowl: "To be the best, you've got to beat the best." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN