Six Michigan captains beyond honored with their titles – ‘my biggest achievement’

Michigan football had so many leaders worthy of being named captain this year that head coach Jim Harbaugh limited the vote to seniors and grad students on the ballot. If not, the Wolverines might have had eight, maybe even 10 to 12 guys in the mix. But the six who did receive the honor — veteran guards Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter, sixth-year lineman Michael Barrett, senior running back Blake Corum, fifth-year nickel Mike Sainristil, and senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, were all more than deserving choices.

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Sainristil is the only returning captain from last year, and he was a lock (even if he didn’t think so, citing Corum as the only no-brainer). He acknowledged it was an honor, but added the leadership would come from more than the fortunate half dozen.

“Coach Harbaugh said it himself — he said with the group of seniors, the group of leaders we have on this team, there’s no one maybe other than Blake … no unanimous decision of who’s going to be voted captain,” the Michigan veteran defensive back said. “That just goes to show the culture of this program now. There are so many different guys who could have been chosen as captain. 

“Every leader is deserved or could have had the right to be captain. We said it that yes, we have six individual captains, but at the end of the day this is more than just a six-captain team. It’s going to take every hand in to get us where we want to go.”

Zinter acknowledged it was in the back of his mind when he chose to return for one more season. His parents were on a flight to Ireland to watch his brother play (for Notre Dame against Navy Saturday) so he couldn’t share the news. He couldn’t wait too, however, honored at his selection. 

 “A lot of emotions. Definitely excited,” the Michigan right guard said. “Big responsibility, but it’s just senior, hard work, your teammates watch you and all the hard work you do. It’s special, definitely. 

“It’s definitely in the back of your head … come back, you want to be a captain, obviously help lead this team. It was definitely one of the goals … your teammates have seen the hard work you put in and they recognized it. Even though there are six captains on this team, there are so many other leaders on this team. It’s not just going to be us six.”

Again, there were several Michigan underclassmen who were worthy of the honor, too. Junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, for example, is one of the most revered leaders in the room, but he’ll need to wait until next year to get the official tag if he chooses to return for his senior season. Ditto running back Donovan Edwards, who has everyone in the room’s respect.

Those players were involved in the voting, too, and theirs and their teammates’ picks are hard to argue. Keegan and Zinter are joined at the hip and have been. It made sense that both were honored with the right to lead.

“My phone’s kind of been blowing up,” Keegan said. “It means everything. I feel like I kind of had to earn my role here, really work to be in the role I am. I’m honestly at a loss for words. It’s at true honor being elected by my teammates. I’m going to do everything I can to lead them and be the best leader I can be.”

“[Zak and I], we’ve played a lot of games. We’ve seen a lot. We’ve been here the longest. We know the program in and outs; we know what’s good. We’ve always led by example; we always do the right thing. Never been late to a meeting or missed a lift. I just kind of think it’s how we were raised by really good parents.”

To nobody’s surprise, grad student Sainristil was named captain for the second straight year. He’s been one of the leaders for a few years now, and he has always been selfless. He doesn’t even talk about the move from receiver to defensive back as a sacrifice, noting it was just the right thing to do.

“It feels great being viewed by my teammates in that light. I don’t think there’s any brighter light that you can be viewed other than this one,” the Michigan grad student said. “These are the guys that see what I do daily, hear how I talk daily, know how I act daily … and they’re the ones that made the decision. 

“It feels great. I’m going to do my best to make sure those guys are ready every week, every single day, every workout, every practice to help us succeed this year.”

For Barrett, this is the culmination of several years of hard work and many ups and downs at Michigan. He’s played several different positions, had his hard times, but now he’s a stalwart at linebacker. He hopes to use his experiences to help the Michigan defense reach new heights.

“I was just telling the guys just with everything I’ve been through, the long process, finally being able to looking back whenever I first got here … just being a captain wasn’t even a thing in my mind,” he said. “That’s just for older guys, things like that. Finally being able to have my name behind that feels great.

“I called my mom afterward. I didn’t have too much time, told her before our meeting started. She just went to yelling on the phone, said she was so excited, so proud of me. I’ll probably call my dad after this and the rest of the family,”

Jenkins acknowledged he was part of a family chat that would qualify as “not safe for the public,” so it was no surprise when a few of his family members gave him a hard time.
“I hit up a couple of my family members, and they may or may not have talked a little trash and said, ‘you know, this might be a mistake,’” the Michigan senior said with a laugh. “But they showed love … and said, ‘yeah, it’s time for  you to grow up and represent your team right, become a man, become a leader.’ That’s what I’m looking forward to doing. 

“This is everything. I never would have expected to be here. This is beyond an honor and a privilege. Honestly, I just want to do everything in my power to represent the Block ‘M’ in the best way possible.”

Finally, Corum couldn’t stop smiling when he reached the podium. He’s back to 100 percent and feeling better than ever after a knee injury that sidelined him late last year during a Michigan win over Illinois. He said it “feels great” being selected a captain and a leader — and for all his accomplishments, he couldn’t think of one better. 

“It’s probably my biggest achievement, bigger than any other achievement I might have had in my life,” the Michigan Heisman candidate said. “It definitely feels great being able to lead the team. It’s amazing. It’s definitely one of the reasons I came back. I was hoping I was going to be able to be captain, and I am. It means a lot. It shows my consistency ever since I got here. People respect it. It means a lot.”

He and his fellow captains — and all the Wolverines — hope to lead Michigan to a third straight Big Ten title. The season and that quest begin Sept. 2 against ECU.