Early enrollee freshman wide receiver Mike Sainristil has wasted no time rising to the top of Michigan’s depth chart with junior wide receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins out due to various injuries this spring.
Even though he’s only in his first spring with the Wolverines, his abilities have excited his coaches and teammates alike.
“Wow, he is quick. He’s a really good football player,” junior Ben Mason said. “A really tough guy, too. He’s not afraid to stick his nose in there and make a block. So, he’s a guy that I’m really confident having on the field with us and he’s a guy who’s going to make an impact for our team this year.”
Despite lacking in collegiate experience, Sainristil is making up for it in other ways. The freshman is undaunted by the challenge of going up against Don Brown’s defense on a day-to-day basis in practice.
His teammates don’t seem him as brash, but as someone they have faith in.
“Coming into spring workouts, he came in with a lot of confidence, a good confidence,” senior running back Tru Wilson said. “He works really hard. I’m happy to have him on the team.”
His work ethic has endeared to his teammates early on in his Michigan career. During the spring, he has focused on playing exclusively at wide receiver, which is a change from his high school career where he played multiple positions on both sides of the ball.
Playing just at the wide receiver has allowed him to focus his talents and skills and hone in on one position. His work at wide receiver has caught the eye of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“He has a level of quickness, change of direction, speed that has been really eye-opening and really good for the team," Harbaugh said. "But he’s also tough. He’s blocking. There’s probably three examples where you can really just see him second, third, fourth effort down the field, sometimes 20, 30, 40 yards downfield blocking for whoever does have the ball.
"He’s been really good and I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s one of our midyear guys that have been great. They get to class, they get there on time, they get there early, they’re kicking down the door to get in the weight room. He’s doing everything right."
His talents were on full display in Michigan’s open practice Saturday afternoon.
Sainristil looked the part of a starting wide receiver catching a touchdown from redshirt sophomore Dylan McCaffrey in a red zone drill and hauled in another pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Milton. He also lined up in the backfield for a few plays, highlighting his versatility and quickness.
Although he has emerged during spring practice, there’s still a long way to go for Sainristil before he sees the field in the fall. When Peoples-Jones and Collins return from injury, he will have to continue to impress the coaches to earn playing time.
Harbaugh said that he just wants Sainristil to keep doing what he’s doing.
"He has an intensity about him when he’s practicing, when he’s in meetings,” Harbaugh said. “ [He’s] really hungry and is doing a great job. All compliments to Mike Sainristil as long as he takes that flattery and, as they say, doesn’t inhale. [He] should be good.”
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