Michigan's Dominic Zvada turns the page after clutch kicks at Nebraska: 'I'm human, I make mistakes'

Michigan Wolverines kicker Dominic Zvada could have been kicking for an NFL team this year, but came back to Ann Arbor for the opportunity to hit big kicks in meaningful games.

He did just that in the 30-27 win over Nebraska last weekend, making kicks from 46, 56 and 21 yards in the victory. The 56-yarder tied a career high set last season.

Zvada was coming off two field goal misses in two weeks at Oklahoma and against Central Michigan. Last week’s clutch performance helped him turn the page.

“I’m human, I make mistakes,” Zvada said Tuesday night. “And even looking at last year, I had a PAT missed and a field goal missed as well, so it’s not like I was perfect last year. I know the expectation is you go on the field, you get points, but you can’t put that pressure on yourself.”

Zvada is a level-headed young man and a stabilizing presence for Michigan on special teams. Still, he appreciates the opportunities and trust he continues to receive from the coaching staff.

 ”It felt good to get out there and I really appreciate the coaches trusting me to go out there and help the team out,” Zvada said. “And that also starts throughout the week in practice. And spent a lot of time with the coaches, kind of working on things, and we were able to figure it out.”

When it came time to kick Saturday’s 56-yarder in the third quarter, Zvada said he had no question that he was going to go out there and give it a try. It gave Michigan a 20-17 that it would not relinquish the rest of the way.

“I wasn’t going to take no for an answer,” Zvada said. “I’m like, ‘I’m going to kick that.’ They had that trust in me.”

Zvada’s misses are somewhat shocking given how automatic he has been in his career, missing just three field goal attempts and one extra point since arriving at Michigan. However, the response is the only thing that matters, he says.

“I don’t want to say I’m used to missing, but it’s something that people don’t see happen during practice, throughout the week, and so you try not to let it affect you,” Zvada said. “During the game, you just got to forget about it. Move on. That’s what the NFL scouts want to see — you have adversity, what are you gonna do about it? They always say you can miss once, but you can never miss two in a row. You don’t want to miss once, but if you’re going to miss once, don’t miss two in a row.”

Zvada and Michigan are back in action in Week 5 when they host the Wisconsin Badgers at the Big House. Kickoff is scheduled for noon on FOX.