Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 65 days until 2022 season
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
We find ourselves just 65 days away from Michigan football’s season opener. This series has largely revolved around figures or seasons of the past. Today’s spotlight comes on a player of the present.
No. 65 on the current roster is junior offensive guard Zak Zinter. He returns to an offensive line that was the best in college football, winning the Joe Moore Award last season. Zinter will help Michigan set a tone on offense once again.
Zinter was a four-star prospect and the No. 314 player in the nation in the 2020 class, per the On3 Consensus ratings. He was also a Shot Put star in high school and a three-year starter on the offensive line before arriving at Michigan. The 6-foot-6, 320-pound Zinter appeared in all six games during his freshman season during the COVID season in 2020 and made four starts at right guard.
Last season was a huge step forward for Zinter, who appeared in 13 games with 12 starts at right guard. His play earned him All-Big Ten honors (second-team from the media, honorable mention from the coaches) and he was often referred to as one of Michigan’s best all-around players.
“Zak we absolutely love,” former offensive coordinator Josh Gattis said last August. “In fact, I’ll tell you, Zak could potentially be our best offensive player. And it’s oftentimes people don’t talk about who’s your best offensive player as a lineman. Everyone thinks it’s always gotta be a skill guy. But that’s how highly we think of Zak Zinter in this building. In fact, I think our players would think the same of him.
“Physically he gives us something we don’t have. He’s smart, he’s strong, he’s tough, he’s athletic. He’s a special player. Very, very special player.”
A tone-setting presence
Zinter has an argument for the best player on the Michigan offensive line. He has a mean streak about him and there are plenty of ways he can be even better this year. Zinter should combine with left guard Trevor Keegan and center Olu Oluwatimi as one of the best interiors in college football. Keegan and Zinter were very good with Andrew Vastardis holding down the fort last year. Oluwatimi has the potential to be an upgrade.
For a team that loses a reliable power back in Hassan Haskins, it might need just a little bit more from the guys up front to open up holes and push a pile. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards are still guys that can get you a tough yard, but it will be a group effort in replacing Haskins.
The offensive line set the tone for the offense last year. It was not always pretty and fans were not always on board with the game plan. But sans the Georgia game, this group took care of business and Zinter was in the middle of it, literally and figuratively. Look for No. 65 to have another big season.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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