Redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry’s career in Ann Arbor has been an interesting one so far.
He arrived at Michigan as a highly-touted quarterback from New Mexico in 2015, but Jim Harbaugh decided to move him to tight end not long into his Wolverine career.
Although he admitted that it took some getting used to, Gentry said he’s feeling a lot more comfortable at the position now.
“I feel a lot better there,” he said. “A whole year of growth is a long time. I’m more used to it now, and I’m getting comfortable playing with the guys around me.”
Gentry explained how he originally felt when the transition occurred.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” he revealed. “At the same time you have to roll with it. I trust Coach Harbaugh, because he knows what’s best for us. He said they needed some athleticism in other spots, and he liked my size and body type — it’s paid off a lot for me so far.
“Plus, I was well aware of his success with tight ends, and that was one of the things that attracted me there.”
Gentry also played other sports while growing up, and explained how beneficial that was to the transition.
“I grew up playing a lot of basketball, so that definitely helped me,” he said. “I think it’s important to play as many sports as you can when you’re young.”
Although he hasn’t seen the field much during his time in Ann Arbor, Gentry did have a big spring game this past April, and talked about how much that outing helped his confidence.
“It helped my confidence getting in the end zone, even if it wasn’t a live game,” the tight end explained. “It made me work extra hard during summer workouts, and it gave me an edge and some more motivation.”
Although he’s been at his new position for over a year now, Gentry admitted that he does miss playing quarterback a bit.
“It’s such a unique position,” the redshirt sophomore said. “You’re the ‘lead by example’ guy and the vocal leader, and you’re in charge of everything — I miss that aspect of it.”
Redshirt junior Wilton Speight, fifth-year senior John O’Korn and redshirt freshman Brandon Peters seem to be the frontrunners at Gentry’s old position, and he talked about what he’s seen from them in fall camp so far.
“I have to hand it to those guys,” he said. “There’s been a lot of leadership from them, and not many mistakes.”
In fact, there’s been leadership from just about everywhere on the team.
“With so many young guys on the team, more guys knew they had to be vocal,” he said. “That’s one of the more interesting dynamics to me than in recent years — everyone is more vocal and there’s more leadership this year. I think it’s because the younger guys have so much experience on this team.
“Jake [Butt] was our bell-cow last year, but now we have a lot of guys who are vocal. We’re a really tight-knit group, which is good even though we’re all butting heads.”
Everyone knew the young crop of players on Michigan’s roster were talented — but the fact that they’re already showing leadership skills makes this 2017 squad even more dangerous.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook
