Zak Zinter, an offensive lineman for Michigan, is still winning postseason awards despite having a difficult playing career. The senior guard’s outstanding 2023 campaign has earned him a unanimous selection to the First Team All-American.
The American Football Coaches Association officially declared him a First-Team pick on Thursday morning.
With the recognition, Zinter joined an elite group of players: consensus All-Americans are players who receive first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association, Sporting News, Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, and Football Writers Association of America. Zinter achieved consensus All-American status earlier this week after being selected to the first team by three of the five organizations.
The only Wolverine to be named unanimously to the First Team All-American for this season is Zinter. Aidan Hutchinson was in 2021, while center Olu Oluwatimi and running back Blake Corum were unanimous selections as All-Americans last season.
Zinter is no stranger to postseason recognition; the coaches and media recently selected him to the First Team All-Big Ten selection. After an outstanding 2022 season as a member of Michigan’s Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line, he was awarded the same distinction. But this is the first time he’s been named an All-American in his college career.
Zinter had the opportunity to enter the NFL Draft after the previous campaign, and he probably would have been among the top offensive guards selected in that class. He did, however, decide to head back to Michigan to compete for another Big Ten championship and a chance at a National Championship with players like Corum and Kris Jenkins.
With another College Football Playoff semifinal approaching, the team is well on its way to reaching its ultimate objective, but it will have to do it without Zinter’s assistance as he sustained a fractured tibia and fibula during Michigan’s 30-24 victory over Ohio State.
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