Zak Lyle Zinter (born April 17, 2001) is an American professional football guard for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, winning three consecutive Big Ten Conference titles and a national championship in 2023. He was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and a unanimous All-American. Zinter was selected by the Browns in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft.
 Zinter with Michigan in 2023 | |
| No. 70 – Cleveland Browns | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Guard |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | April 17, 2001 Port St. Lucie, Florida, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Weight: | 310 lb (141 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | |
| College: | Michigan (2020–2023) |
| NFL draft: | 2024 / round: 3 / pick: 85 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Stats at Pro Football Reference | |
Early life
editZinter was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida on April 17, 2001, the son of Paul and Tiffany Zinter. He lived in Florida until he was in middle school, before moving to North Andover, Massachusetts. Zinter attended St. John’s Prep for the first two years of his high school career, before transferring to Buckingham Browne & Nichols. He played both football and track and field, excelling at both. Zinter was a three-year starter along the offensive line, with one year at St. John’s Prep and two at BB&N. As a junior, he led BB&N to an 8-1 record and title game appearances in the Independent School League and New England championships.
Zinter was a two-time Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association All-State selection, USA Today All-Massachusetts in 2018, and on the Super 26 All-State Team in 2019. He was also the NEPSAC All-New England Lineman of the Year in 2019. In addition, Zinter was a four-time state champion in track and field, winning the MIAA Division I shot put twice, as a freshman and sophomore, and the discus state title as a sophomore. As a junior, he was the NEPSAC New England State Shot Put Champion, breaking and still holding his school record with a distance of 49’-7”.[1]
PrepStar Magazine listed Zinter as a Top 150 Dream Team member, rated as the top prospect in Massachusetts, the 17th-best offensive tackle in the country and the nation’s 123rd overall recruit. He committed to play college football at the University of Michigan, over Notre Dame, Ohio State and Boston College.[2]
College career
editZinter enrolled at the University of Michigan in 2020. As a true freshman, he started 4 games for Michigan. In 2021, he was part of Michigan's offensive line that won the Joe Moore Award.[3][4][5][6][7] Zinter started 12 games and was named second-team All-Big Ten.
In 2022, Zinter started 14 games,[8] and was selected by the conference coaches as a first-team offensive guard on the All-Big Ten team. All three of Michigan's interior offensive lineman (Zinter, Olusegun Oluwatimi, and Trevor Keegan) were named to the first-team by the conference coaches.[9] In doing so Michigan won back-to-back Joe Moore Award’s, and Zinter was named to the Outland Trophy watch list.[10][11]
On November 25, 2023, in the victory against rival Ohio State, Zinter sustained a broken tibia and fibula and was taken off the field on a cart. He missed the remainder of the season.[12][13][14]
Despite the injury, Zinter started 12 games for Michigan’s national championship team, was selected to the All-Big Ten team for a third consecutive season, and was named a unanimous All-American in 2023.[15][16]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5+7⁄8 in (1.98 m) |
309 lb (140 kg) |
33+1⁄2 in (0.85 m) |
9+3⁄8 in (0.24 m) | |||||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[17][18] | ||||||||||||
Zinter was selected 85th overall by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft.[19]
References
edit- ^ Shuck, Barry (April 28, 2024). "Meet Up! Get to know new Browns OG Zak Zinter from high school to a national title and more". Dawgs By Nature. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Zak Zinter". University of Michigan. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ McMann, Aaron (March 15, 2022). "Zak Zinter gets used to new neighbors along Michigan's offensive line". Mlive.com. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ Yost, Kyle (June 22, 2022). "Zak Zinter's path to Michigan, outlook for 2022". Maize n Brew. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Cohen, Michael (September 4, 2021). "Michigan football's Zak Zinter, 'our best offensive player,' does not start opener vs. WMU". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Muldoon, Michael (December 6, 2021). "North Andover bruiser Zinter helps lead Michigan into playoff semifinals". The Eagle-Tribune. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ McMann, Aaron (April 2, 2021). "Zak Zinter is healthy again, turning heads along Michigan's offensive line". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ Breiler, Christopher (January 11, 2023). "Michigan Football: Five Key Pieces Have Decisions To Make". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
- ^ "Big Ten Conference Unveils Football All-Conference Teams for Offense and Select Individual Honors" (PDF). Big Ten Conference. November 30, 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 30, 2022.
- ^ "Michigan Wolverines Win Unprecedented Back to Back Joe Moore Awards". Joe Moore Award. December 17, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ Lozon, Von (July 26, 2022). "Zak Zinter, Olu Oluwatimi named to Outland Trophy watch list". Maize n Brew. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ Crane, Andrew (November 25, 2023). "Michigan's Zak Zinter carted off on stretcher versus Ohio State in scary injury scene". New York Post. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ Skiver, Kevin (November 25, 2023). "Zak Zinter injury update: Michigan lineman broke tibia, fibula in horrific injury vs. OSU". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ Chengelis Skiver, Angelique S. (November 26, 2023). "Michigan's Zak Zinter has surgery after being carted off with gruesome leg injury". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ Breiler, Christopher (December 14, 2023). "Michigan's Zak Zinter Becomes Unanimous First Team All-American". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Michigan stymies Michael Penix Jr., Washington to win CFP". The New York Times. January 8, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Zak Zinter Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NFL Draft Scout Zak Zinter College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Ulrich, Nate (April 26, 2024). "Zak Zinter to Browns in NFL draft: Instant grade, analysis, stats for 85th pick". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved May 26, 2024.