Posts under: Blog

Zak Zinter, Wolverine

I guess I must be caught up in Game of Thrones mania, because I originally typed the title of this post “Zak Winter, Zolverine.” Also, I haven’t watched this current season of GoT, so don’t ruin it for me.

North Andover (MA) Buckingham Browne and Nichols offensive tackle Zak Zinter committed to Michigan on Thursday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Auburn, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Penn State, among others.

RATINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #12 OG
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #16 OT, #147 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #28 OT, #332 overall

Hit the jump for more on Zinter’s commitment.

2019 Season Countdown: #98 Dan Jokisch

Name: Dan Jokisch
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 279 lbs.
High school: Orchard Lake (MI) St. Mary’s
Position: Offensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #61
Last year: I did not rank Jokisch. He did not see game action.
TTB Rating: N/A

Jokisch, the son of former Michigan tight end Dan Jokisch, is entering his fourth season in the program without having set foot on the field yet. I have seen him on the field in practices and warmups, and he always looks a little out of place – a little too light, a little too stiff, etc. After all he was a high school tight end, and I think perhaps trying to bulk up is just not something that has worked out for his body.

Either way, there has been a little talk about Jokisch this spring getting some more playing time with the twos and threes, but I don’t expect that to carry over into meaningful playing time this season. He’s mostly a scout team and program guy.

Prediction: Backup offensive tackle

2019 Season Countdown: #99 Michael Sessa

Name: Michael Sessa
Height: 6’8″
Weight: 211 lbs.
High school: Hinsdale (IL) Central
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #6
Last year: I ranked Sessa #99 and said he would be a backup quarterback (LINK). He played one game against Rutgers.
TTB Rating: N/A

You can’t really appreciate the tallness of Michael Sessa until you see him around other Michigan football players. I mean, 6’8″ sounds really tall, but they’re football players, so they’re all big, right? But then you see videos of Michigan football players hanging out together, including a pretty gimongous Wilton Speight, and there’s a guy who towers even over him.

And that guy is Michael Sessa.

On the football side of things, Sessa took one snap against Rutgers last year. So there’s that.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

Visitors: May 17-19, 2019

2020

Van Fillinger – DE – Draper (UT) Corner Canyon: Fillinger is a 6’3″, 250-pounder with offers from LSU, Michigan, Oregon, and USC, among others. He’s a 3-star, the #21 strongside end, and #485 overall. All nine crystal ball picks are for Michigan.

Andrew Gentry – OT – Littleton (CO) Columbine: Gentry (no relation to Zach) is a 6’8″, 310 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Michigan, and Notre Dame, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #6 offensive tackle, and #47 overall. Three out of four of the crystal ball picks for Gentry are for BYU, and his player comparison on 247 is none other than former Michigan lineman Michael Schofield (LINK). This is an unofficial visit.

Hit the jump for some 2021 visitors.

2019 Season Countdown: #100 Caden Kolesar

Name: Caden Kolesar
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 195 lbs.
High school: Lakewood (OH) St. Edward’s
Position: Safety
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: N/A
Last year: Kolesar was a senior in high school (LINK). He made
150 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 interception, 13 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 rushing touchdown, 1 punt return touchdown, 1 kickoff return touchdown, and 1 blocked kick
TTB Rating: 60

I wrote up a full commitment post for Kolesar, because at the time, it looked like he was committing to the Wolverines as a full-fledged scholarship member of the 2019 class. That turned out not to be true after I already gave him a TTB Rating and such. Oh well.

Anyway, Kolesar is the son of former Michigan wide receiver John Kolesar, who played with Jim Harbaugh back in the 1980s. Caden is the type of hyperproductive, undersized high school player that you root for to be successful, but there are a lot of them dotting the landscape of college football, and not all of them turn into stars. If he were going to, say, Wisconsin, he might be a future star. Since he’s coming to Michigan, where there are 5-stars and 4-stars . . . maybe not.

This year Michigan has some good safeties either already in place or joining the roster this year, including 5-star Daxton Hill and 4-star Quentin Johnson. Kolesar could be a special teams player this year, and if he sticks around for a few years, maybe he will end up like Jordan Glasgow or Jordan Kovacs with some decent playing time. For the moment, though, I don’t expect much from him.

Prediction: Redshirt