Michigan offensive lineman Zak Zinter blocks during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Ohio State, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan won 30-24. (AP Photo/David Dermer)AP
PASADENA, Calif. — The mood grew somber and the atmosphere inside Michigan Stadium got so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Zak Zinter, Michigan’s All-American offensive lineman, lay on the field in pain as his teammate’s surrounded him. The Wolverines were in the middle of their biggest game of the season, against archrival Ohio State, and his teammates immediately waived to the sideline for help.
They knew something was wrong, and so did Zinter.
“Everything was going through my mind,” Zinter said ahead of Monday’s Rose Bowl against Alabama (5 p.m. ET, ESPN). “All the emotions, everything going on. I didn’t know what had happened. I knew my leg was broke — heard it, felt it. Didn’t know how bad it was or any of that stuff.”
Zinter had to be carted off the field and rushed to the University of Michigan Hospital, where he was quickly diagnosed with a broken tibia and fibula in his left leg and rushed into surgery. He was joined at his bedside by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who later said he was “hoping for the best but in your mind preparing for the worst.”
As Harbaugh later phrased it, Zinter suffered the best worst-case scenario you could ask for. Because it was a clean break, his recovery timeline is shorter and should make him eligible to play during his rookie season in the NFL.
“It’s only a three-month recovery, so nothing really crazy,” Zinter said. “I’ll be back. I’ve already started to walk a little bit with the crutches. Doing really well right now.”
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The hope, he says, is to be up moving around and jogging by the NFL Scouting Combine in late February and back to working out a month later. Zinter is considered one of the top available guards in the 2024 NFL Draft, making him a potential Day 2 pick.
“I think I might be ready to go for rookie minicamp,” Zinter said. “I’ll be ready to roll. It’s really not going to affect me too, too much, honestly. It’s a rod in my leg now and it’s just a broken bone. No ligaments or anything, which is a blessing.”
Zinter called watching Michigan play in the CFP on Monday “bittersweet” because of his inability to play. He passed up an opportunity to enter the NFL draft last year in order to return and win a national title. And if the Wolverines are able to pull it off, it’ll be without him on the field.
To make do, expect Michigan to move play with Karsen Barnhart inside at guard and Trente Jones at right tackle in order to help combat the Crimson Tide and their elite edge rushers, Chris Braswell and Dallas Turner.
“We’ve been together for a long time now, so we’ve got a lot of chemistry on and off the field,” Zinter said. “We move around positions all the time. Spring ball, fall camp. So I’m not worried about them at all. They’re going to do great.”
