Name: Mike Sainristil
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 183 lbs.
High school: Everett (MA) Everett
Position: Wide receiver
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #19
Last year: Sainristil was a senior in high school (LINK). He made 32 catches for 792 yards and 12 touchdowns, along with 290 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns; he also made 6 interceptions on defense.
TTB Rating: 84
Sainristil was the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Massachusetts, and that was well deserved. Going back to watch him play during his senior year, it’s ridiculous to see how explosive, elusive, and strong he is. If you’re one-on-one with Sainristil, you might as well sit down to make sure your ankles stay intact. Graveyards have been filled with the shards of tibias that have come within 5 yards of Sainristil on a football field.
And then came the spring. Sainristil enrolled at Michigan early, got hyped up by Josh Gattis, and did things like this in the spring game:
I expect Sainristil to have a breakout year as a true freshman. Unlike Freddy Canteen – whose spring hype from yesteryear outpaced his film – the buzz about Sainristil is backed up by what you see from his high school career. Not only that, but Michigan’s RPO-based offense needs a slot guy who can run the crossing routes, slants, hitches, and bubbles that make the pistons churn. Ronnie Bell has some elusiveness and vision, but his explosiveness isn’t on the same level as Sainristil’s. He has already been named a starter in the slot – a stance in the spring that was reaffirmed recently – which suggests that a previously hyped receiver will start the game on the bench. At various different times, Tarik Black, Nico Collins, and Donovan Peoples-Jones have all been pegged as future high draft picks and/or the best receiver on the team, but Sainristil will apparently start over at least one of them.
Prediction: Starting slot receiver; 30 catches for 480 yards and 5 touchdowns
