Michigan OL Zak Zinter going to give 'everything I have for one more year' in pursuit of national championship

Michigan Wolverines football will return three of its five starters from the 2022 offensive line that won a second-straight Joe Moore Award, including consensus first-team All-Big Ten honoree Zak Zinter at right guard.

Zinter was one of several key Wolverines to come back for the 2023 season, something that was aided by Valiant Management’s “one more year fund.” Most of all, though, Zinter has more goals he wants to accomplish at Michigan, which is why he was willing to put his dream of becoming an NFL player on the back burner for now.

“Super pumped to be back for another year,” Zinter said on the In The Trenches podcast with host Jon Jansen. “It was tough. I could’ve gone either way. I’ve wanted to play in the NFL since I can remember, and that opportunity was there.

“When it came down to it, I just looked at my goals, and I still have so many goals that I have here for myself and for this team. When it came down to it, it was tough, but I’m happy I decided to come back.”

Through intermediaries, Zinter received feedback from the NFL. He’ll take it into account when preparing for Michigan’s 2023 season.

“Staying lower, pad level in the run game, a little bit of footwork in the pass game, throwing my hands earlier,” Zinter said of what he heard. “Every game, there’s something new you have to correct. You think about one thing and it’s like, I have to think about this as well. There’s just continuous stuff to improve on.”

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The phone call with offensive coordinator and line coach Sherrone Moore to let him know of his final decision was a special one.

“I did mess with him a little bit, just because, let’s have some fun with it. Why not?” Zinter said with a laugh. “He was ecstatic. He said I was messing with his heart too much, because I was telling him, if I come back, you gotta be there with me. I was messing with him a little bit. But he was excited to come back, I’m excited too.”

He said the same of his conversation with Michigan head man Jim Harbaugh.

Moore has quickly risen up the ranks at Michigan, earning more responsibility by the season. Just six seasons ago, he was an assistant at Central Michigan. Just three years ago, he was Michigan’s tight ends coach. He’s now led the Wolverines to consecutive Joe Moore Awards in his two years as offensive line coach, earned co-coordinator duties and now appears to be the sole leader of the offense following former co-coordinator Matt Weiss‘ departure.

“Coach Moore has been something we need in that room,” Zinter said. “He came in, he brought the energy, the juice back in that room, and made it fun to play again. Coming off that COVID season, we didn’t have a lot of success; it was tough. He really came in, lit the room up and made football fun again.

“You hear a lot about the culture that we built in this building. Even though we’ve reached these goals, we want to keep hitting them — and we’ve got more goals to achieve, as well. The entire team’s mindset is the same, and when we’re all in the same mindset, we’re dangerous.”

A potential captain, Zinter and other Michigan veterans seem as motivated as ever to reach all of their goals this coming season. The Wolverines have won 25 games and two Big Ten titles over the last two years but still want the national championship.

“We have the mindset in here [that] we just gotta focus in on the little details,” Zinter said. “A big message I’ve been relaying to the guys, especially the new guys that have been coming in, is, we’ve gotta focus on the little details, because the little details that we focus on now in winter conditioning are going to translate over to spring ball, they’re going to translate over to summer workouts and then they’re going to translate over to the season. When it comes down to it, you’re in a game and it comes down to who’s gonna win toward the end of the game, it’s the little details that are really going to set you apart.”

Leading by example, Zinter will bring his all.

“Everything I got. Everything I have for one more year,” Zinter said of his mindset. “You do give everything — these last years you’ve had, you do give everything, no regrets. But when it is your last year and you know it is, that preparation, the mindset, the drive, everything just gets bumped up a notch.”

The Michigan lineman has just one more year before he plans to head to the NFL, and he’s going to make the most of it.

“Playing football here has been the best time of my life,” he said. “Just going out there at practice, workouts, shooting the crap with the boys, it’s just fun to be here, be in this building and just play this game with all your adult friends, kind of, now. We’re just big kids playing a game out there. The bonds we have make it even that much more special, just to go out there and play.”