Zak Zinter healthy again, looks to build off early experience with Wolverines

Michigan offensive lineman Zak Zinter admits to having experienced some nervousness when he was called on last season to take over at right guard as a freshman.

That was before the third game, but Zinter said he was instilled with confidence. Although he was an early enrollee who didn’t have the advantage of participating in spring practice, canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 6-foot-6, 334-pound Zinter now knows how valuable that playing time was last fall and how important this spring has been.

“Getting in the games was huge,” Zinter recently told reporters. “Just that experience is something you can’t really create other than playing in the game itself. The experience was incredible, and I think I’ve come a very long way from a year ago when I stepped on campus as an early enrollee.”

He said he’s using his hands more and staying low, and while the depth chart is in pencil now, Zinter appears to the starter at right guard next to tackle Andrew Stueber. Stueber had been playing at right guard last fall but moved to right tackle when Jalen Mayfield suffered a high ankle sprain. Zinter and Stueber developed a rhythm playing side-by-side those final games.

“He has such a high ceiling,” Mayfield said recently of Zinter. “He’s very versatile, a very strong kid. He’s very athletic, as well. I think he’s gonna be a big part of what they have next year.”

That likely is the plan. Stueber has played in 20 games with eight starts, while Zinter was the first freshman since Ben Bredeson in 2016 to start on Michigan’s offensive line. The right side looks to be locked in.

“It’s been awesome working next to Stuebs,” Zinter said. “He’s a great player, knows the game very well. The connection we’ve built playing next to each other is very strong. I love playing next to Stuebs.”

Zinter also is fully healthy after offseason surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) which helps stabilize the thumb for gripping. He suffered the injury the week of practice before the Penn State game, the final game Michigan played last fall before a COVID-19 outbreak wiped out the final three contests.

“I got treatment, was trying to fight through it and play the Penn State game,” Zinter said. “Got through the first drive and it was just super painful, and I couldn’t play at my best to help the team win.”

He said he has fully healed.

“It’s not affecting me at all for spring,” Zinter said.

Subscription: 'Unfinished business': UM linebacker Josh Ross returns for fifth year

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh made several changes to his staff during the offseason, including not renewing the contract of offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Sherrone Moore, who was Michigan’s tight ends coach the last three seasons, is now coaching offensive line, the position he played at Oklahoma, and also is co-offensive coordinator.

“He’s definitely brought a new energy to the offensive line,” Zinter said of Moore. “The emotion and the passion that he has for the game, he wants us to get better every single day. He puts everything he’s got into it. It really shows to us as players, the passion and emotion he brings to practice. It’s been awesome.”

Zinter has had a chance to evaluate some of the freshmen and offered his early impressions.

Of the freshmen early enrollees on the offensive line, Greg Crippen has received the majority of the praise. Crippen was starting center at IMG Academy, which is where former Michigan center Cesar Ruiz, a first-round draft pick in 2020, played toward the end of his high school career.

"He’s standing out a bit," Zinter said of Crippen. "He’s going to have a very bright future in front of him. He’s very smart at the game, wants to learn, has a strong drive."

The run game can't go if the offensive line isn't sound, but from Zinter's vantage, the backs, including Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum and early enrollee Donovan Edwards, are awfully talented.

"It’s arguably one of best running back groups in the country,” he said. "It's pretty incredible the amount of talent we have in our running back room right now.”

Michigan clearly has improvement to make across the board after a 2-4 season, and the Wolverines need to determine a starting quarterback. But Zinter said the offensive line is getting better, and he has seen the positive signs during the spring. Warinner last year had to replace four starters, and now Moore is working with a group that has some experience.

“We were very young last year, so now we’ve had a few games to jell together, we’ve had this spring practice to start working with each other, (and) we have high expectations for ourselves,” Zinter said. “Being able to get spring like we didn’t last year has just been able to let us jell and be comfortable with playing next to each other again.”

achengelis@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @chengelis