2021 Season Countdown: #26 Mike Sainristil

2021 Season Countdown: #26 Mike Sainristil


August 12, 2021
Mike Sainristil

Name: Mike Sainristil
Height:
5’10”
Weight:
185 lbs.
High school:
Everett (MA) Everett
Position:
Wide receiver
Class:
Junior
Jersey number:
#19
Last year:
I ranked Sainristil #26 and said he would be a backup wide receiver (LINK). He started three games and made 7 catches for 82 yards and 2 touchdowns.
TTB Rating:
84

Sainristil has earned bits and pieces of practice buzz – mixed with some tantalizing on-field play – for the past two seasons. So far that has amounted to just 15 total catches, albeit including 3 touchdowns. Those three scores came on an RPO catch-and-run in 2019, a leaping 23-yard touchdown from Cade McNamara against Wisconsin last season, and a screen catch-and-run against Rutgers. Sainristil has also had some frustrating drops.

In a recent interview, offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Josh Gattis lamented the fact that Nico Collins’s opt-out in 2020 forced Michigan to move Sainristil out of the slot to the “X” receiver position. The implication was that Sainristil is back in the slot for 2021. With Giles Jackson (Washington) having transferred, Michigan is searching for someone who can make big plays in the slot. I’m not yet convinced that Sainristil can be that guy, but off-season hype has him taking a step forward this season.

Prediction: Starting slot receiver; 25 catches, 330 yards, 3 touchdowns

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