2023 Season Countdown: #10 Zak Zinter

Tag: 2023 season countdown


26Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #10 Zak Zinter

Zak Zinter (image via MGoBlue)

Name: Zak Zinter
Height: 6’6″
Weight: 322 lbs.
High school: North Andover (MA) Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Position: Offensive guard
Class: Senior
Jersey number: #65
Last year: I ranked Zinter #7 and said he would be the starting right guard. He started all fourteen games.
TTB Rating: 76

Zinter is yet another lineman, just like Trevor Keegan, who had an outstanding season in 2022. Zinter was a First Team All-Big Ten player who could have gone to the NFL after the year. He had a great year overall, but he especially earned some acclaim for some of his blocking against Ohio State, launching Donovan Edwards for a couple 75+ yard touchdown runs on the way to the 45-23 win.

There’s no reason to expect anything less from Zinter in 2023. He’s still entrenched as the starter at right guard. Michigan is so deep on the offensive line that the Wolverines should be able to manage an injury or two during the year. Of course, we hope everyone stays healthy, but those big guys are hitting and getting rolled on nearly every single play. Luckily, for Michigan’s sake, there are guys like Giovanni El-Hadi, Raheem Anderson, and others who would be starting on a lot of Big Ten teams but are backups in Ann Arbor. Depth is not quite so available at other positions, which is why a potential All-American is ranked at #10.

Prediction: Starting right guard

25Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #11 Trevor Keegan

Dec 31, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Michigan Wolverines offensive lineman Trevor Keegan (77) against the TCU Horned Frogs during the 2022 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Name: Trevor Keegan
Height: 
6’6″
Weight: 
320 lbs.
High school: 
Crystal Lake (IL) Crystal Lake
Position: 
Offensive guard
Class: 
Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #77
Last year: 
I ranked Keegan #17 and said he would be the starting left guard (LINK). He started eleven games at left guard.
TTB Rating:
 81

Keegan was a man mountain at left guard last season, moving people with regularity. He battled some injuries, but still managed to start eleven games, and he was well respected enough around the conference to be named First Team All-Big Ten. He was named Offensive Player of the Week twice, including against Penn State, when Michigan ran for a whopping 418 yards (Michigan’s highest total since running for 481 yards in the 78-0 win over Rutgers in 2016).

Keegan is a highly valuable player and has been named a captain for 2023, but Michigan has such depth on the offensive line that it’s tough to hold any of them in too high of esteem. If Keegan were to go down with injury again, there are a variety of offensive line concoctions that could hold up, including inserting Giovanni El-Hadi, shuffling La’Darius Henderson to guard, or inserting someone like Karsen Barnhart if Trente Jones is starting at tackle. It’s a testament to the amount of talent on this team that a returning First Team All-Big Ten player and possible All-American is hanging out at #11 on the countdown.

Prediction: Starting left guard

24Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #12 Cornelius Johnson

Cornelius Johnson (image via Wolverines Wire)

Name: Cornelius Johnson
Height: 
6’3″
Weight: 
208 lbs.
High school
Greenwich (CT) Brunswick
Position: 
Wide receiver
Class: 
Fifth year senior
Jersey number: 
#6
Last year: 
I ranked Johnson #13 and said he would be a starting wide receiver with 36 catches for 560 yards and 5 touchdowns (LINK). He started all fourteen games and made 32 catches for 499 yards and 6 touchdowns.
TTB Rating:
 87

Johnson had his most exciting season in 2022, and that season came down to one game: Ohio State. In just that one game, he caught 4 passes for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. (In other words, he had just 28 catches for 339 yards and 4 touchdowns the rest of the year.) But the Buckeyes couldn’t tackle him and couldn’t cover him in space with a backup safety, so some of my favorite memories from last year have Johnson running free in Ohio Stadium on the way to two huge scores, both in distance and meaning.

As mentioned above, the rest of Johnson’s 2022 year was largely forgettable. He followed up that performance against OSU with 1 catch for 9 yards against Purdue and 2 catches for 30 yards against TCU. In fact, on seven different occasions last year, he was held to just 1 or 2 catches.

But all of that took place in the Ronnie Bell era, and the Ronnie Bell era is over. Bell wasn’t the fastest or tallest guy, but he always managed to get open and gain yards after the catch. Someone else needs to step up as the go-to guy. I’m not so sure it will be Johnson, but he has an opportunity. Johnson is a good route-runner with decent speed, but he has yet to really show he can catch the ball consistently in traffic. I think Johnson might lead the team in receiving without actually being the most important receiver, because the guy who should benefit most from Michigan’s dominant running game is speedster Roman Wilson. But Bell caught 62 balls last season, and those chain-moving catches need to go somewhere. I expect Johnson to have a better statistical year and for some of those slot targets to be diverted more toward Johnson and Wilson, along with likely slot starter Tyler Morris.

Prediction: Starting wide receiver; 48 catches for 700 yards and 7 touchdowns

23Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #13 Donovan Edwards

Donovan Edwards (image via The Athletic)

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Name: Donovan Edwards
Height: 
6’1”
Weight: 
210 lbs.
High school: 
West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield
Position: 
Running back
Class: 
Junior
Jersey number: 
#7
Last year: 
I ranked Edwards #15 and said he would be a part-time starting running back (LINK). He ran 140 times for 991 yards and 7 touchdowns; and caught 18 passes for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns.
TTB Rating:
 90

Edwards was a borderline 5-star prospect in the class of 2021, and he has not disappointed. As exciting as his 11-reception day was against Maryland his rookie year, nothing compared to his two huge rushing touchdowns against Ohio State last year, breaking the back of the reeling Buckeyes. He had a 75-yard rushing touchdown, and that wasn’t even his biggest play of the game; instead, it was the 85-yarder, which ranks as the #8 longest rushing play in Michigan history.

Edwards got his chance to really stand out after Blake Corum was injured against Illinois. Despite having a broken right hand that forced him to carry the ball exclusively in his left (non-dominant) hand, he had a huge game (216 yards) against Ohio State, ran for 185 yards against Purdue, and ran for 123 yards against TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. He was 9 yards away from giving Michigan two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season.

The 2023 season should be another standout year for Edwards, who has now proven himself on some of the biggest stages of college football. While Corum does return and Edwards may be a nominal “backup,” he should get plenty of opportunities in both the running and receiving phases of the game. There has been talk that he has been lining up in the slot, which makes sense because of the departure of Ronnie Bell. Michigan fans also hope that Corum can stay healthy for the entire season, because the outcome against TCU may have been a little different if Michigan’s Heisman-caliber running back had been available for the playoff game. But Edwards is an excellent back in his own right, with game-breaking receiving abilities and big-play speed. There’s a good chance that this will be his final season in Ann Arbor, so let’s enjoy his wearing a winged helmet as much as we can.

Prediction: Part-time starting running back; 1,050 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns; 30 catches for 350 yards, 4 touchdowns

22Aug 2023
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2023 Season Countdown: #14 Junior Colson

Junior Colson

Name: Junior Colson
Height: 
6’3″
Weight: 
247 lbs.
High school: 
Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood
Position: 
Linebacker
Class: 
Junior
Jersey number: 
#25
Last year: 
I ranked Colson #2 and said he would be the starting middle linebacker with 110 tackles and 4 sacks (LINK). He made 101 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 1 pass breakup, and 1 quarterback hurry.
TTB Rating: 
89

Colson had a solid freshman campaign in 2021 followed up by a very good sophomore year. A player with sideline-to-sideline speed, he led the team in tackles with 101. He didn’t necessarily have the one huge “wow” play that might really cement him in Michigan fan’s memories – yet – but he was all over the field on a consistent basis, especially when he seemed to make every stop against Purdue. He ended up with 15 tackles against the Boilermakers alone.

Some people may quibble with my moving Colson down from #2 to #14 in this year’s countdown, but that points toward my having a little more confidence in this year’s linebacker group. Even though Nikhai Hill-Green transferred to Charlotte after sitting out 2022 due to injury, every other linebacker returns with an additional year of experience, plus Nebraska transfer Ernest Hausmann. Michigan really has three starting linebackers (Colson, Barrett, Hausmann) for two spots, not to mention Jimmy Rolder, who got quite a bit of experience last year. Throw in Micah Pollard and Jaydon Hood, who are both getting some practice buzz, and the Wolverines have a solid group.

Colson should once again be in the running for all-conference and will probably lead the team in tackles, but Michigan finally seems to have some quality depth rather than immediately having to dip into the true freshman – or even redshirt freshman – ranks if there’s an injury.

Prediction: Starting middle linebacker; 90 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception