Michigan offensive line coach Ed Warinner landed one of the biggest targets on his recruiting board May 16 when Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne & Nichols four-star offensive tackle Zak Zinter pledged to the Wolverines.
Zinter helped lead his Knights squad to an 8-1 record last year, including a 6-0 mark to close out the season following an early October loss to St. Sebastian’s School.
One of the victories during the season-ending six-game winning streak came against the Governor’s Academy Governors (47-30) on Nov. 2, in which their head coach Jim O’Leary came away quite impressed with Zinter’s play.
“He looks the part of a big-time football player,” O’Leary recalled. “He’s just a massive kid who is pretty intimidating at his size.
“They played him at both guard and defensive tackle against us, so he was definitely one of the better linemen we’ve ever seen in our league and the best we saw last year.
“Zinter just manhandles people one-on-one, and is so tough to handle for kids his age. Not only is he big, but he’s also a good athlete with great feet and a big-time motor.
“Throw in his competitiveness and it makes him the dangerous player that he is.”