Michigan's Zak Zinter, Trevor Keegan share origins of playing OL, mentality of team
The Michigan Wolverines are ranked No. 2 in the country due in large part to an offensive line that continues to gell as we hit the meat and potatoes of the Big Ten schedule. Coming off back-to-back Joe Moore Awards, the climb has been a little bit taller this year, but U-M is starting to hit its stride
Senior guard Zak Zinter and graduate Trevor Keegan are the nucleus of the offensive line and have been Michigan starters for three seasons. During a conversation with Jake Butt hosted by the Champions Circle collective, each discussed the origins of playing in the trenches.
“I think God chose for me to be an offensive lineman,” Zinter said on the podcast. “You know when it’s little league and you have that red stripe on your helmet that says you weigh too much to touch the ball, that pretty much meant I was going to be an o-lineman and I just accepted the role and rolled with it.”
Keegan replied, “I was always the fat big kid growing up and then eighth grade, I hit this big growth spurt. I was like 6-6, 240 in eighth grade. And I could fly. Like I could scoot. I was like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna play linebacker and tight end, so I started doing that.
“We were doing seven on sevens over the summer and I was on varsity doing drops at linebacker. I’ve never even heard of that in my life. So it was terrible. It was awful. Then one day, ‘Buddy, you’re back on the o-line’ and I gained like 65 pounds my freshman year of high school. So it was kind of just meant to be.”
It takes a different type of wiring and mentality to play the offensive line effectively. Zinter knew that he liked to be a bully long before winding up at Michigan.
“I want to say high school,” Zinter said about when he learned he liked to hit people. “I don’t know. My head is like, you go out there and that dude, his mom is in the stands too. And you’re just burying him right in front of his mom. There’s something messed up in my head probably when I’m saying that, like embarrassing him in front of his mom. But yeah… it’s football. There’s something about it. I don’t know.”
Keegan chimed in: “My dad was like a huge Bears fan. So like the 1985 Bears, that’s all he ever like grew up talking to me about. My dad just like always loved people who hit hard. But I love Ray Lewis, guys like that. I’ve always just loved hitting people.”
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Zinter and Keegan combine to be a major part of Michigan’s backbone and have helped build a culture of connectivity and accountability with each other. As long as that mentality continues, they believe they can continue to march toward their goals.
“Our whole thing is, you know, you do your 1/11th, and everyone executes, and then we got special playmakers that have the ball in their hands, and if we do our job, they do their job, something special usually happens,” Zinter said.
“I feel like that’s the identity of our team,” Keegan said. “You’ve got a locker room and coaches and staff and personnel that all trust each other and are on this mission. When you got everybody in Schembechler Hall all working together on the same thing, you’re building trust, you’re building relationships, you’re building a brotherhood, and you’re building a team that’s super dangerous.
“When you’ve got everybody working together, all calm and collective and everything’s clicking, I mean, we’re as dangerous as it’s going to get.”
The mission continues on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. ET when Michigan hosts the Indiana Hoosiers. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET and the game will be televised via Fox’s Big Noon Saturday coverage with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call.
