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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan star offensive lineman Zak Zinter was carted off the field with a serious left leg injury late in the third quarter against Ohio State on Saturday.
In a Facebook post later in the day, Zinter’s mother said that Zak suffered a broken tibia and fibula and underwent surgery for the fractures Saturday evening. She wrote that the Michigan team FaceTimed him from the locker room while he was at the emergency room.
“HUGE THANK YOU to the hundreds of family/friends/fans that have reached out!” Tiffany Zinter wrote. “Please know we’ll read them when we get a moment. We are beyond feeling the LOVE! On the bright side…he’s 3-0 against OSU!!”
Zinter later took to social media to share a photo of himself while recovering from surgery that included his parents and coach Jim Harbaugh, with the caption: “Surgery went great, Love TEAM 144!! Thanks for having my back boys and finishing strong! I’ll be back better than ever. See you in Indy!”
Surgery went great, Love TEAM 144!! Thanks for having my back boys and finishing strong! I’ll be back better than ever. See you in Indy! pic.twitter.com/AveMNWcAvJ
— Zak Zinter (@zak_zinter) November 26, 2023
Zinter’s leg buckled while he was blocking on an 18-yard pass from J.J. McCarthy to tight end AJ Barner with 2:19 left in the quarter and the score tied at 17. Players quickly motioned for a medical cart.
As the crowd chanted, “Let’s go Zak,” medical personnel loaded Zinter onto the cart, and he was transported to a local hospital. Michigan acting head coach and offensive line coach Sherrone Moore said he spoke with Zinter’s mother and received “some positive news.”
“He’ll heal, and he’ll be ready to go down the road at some point,” Moore said.
Michigan’s Blake Corum scored on the ensuring play and held up the numbers six and five to recognize Zinter, who has made 42 starts and missed only one game in his Wolverines career.
“Zak’s my guy. He’s another guy who came back for unfinished business,” Corum said. “Seeing him go down the last game hurt. Very emotional, seeing what he was going through down on the ground. But we came together. We knew we had to do it for him, and the very next play, boom. I know he’s going to come back stronger than ever, one of the best guards in the nation.”
“At that moment, seeing the look in everybody’s eyes, seeing them rally together; it was spiritual, honestly, just like seeing that,” quarterback J.J. McCarthy said. “It was a different drive that came out of everybody when that happened.”
Zinter, a senior from North Andover, Massachusetts, is a third-year starter who earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2022 and a second-team selection in 2021. He helped Michigan win consecutive Joe Moore awards as the nation’s top offensive line. Zinter has started each game this season at right guard and is a strong candidate for All-America honors.
Right tackle Karsen Barnhart shifted to the right guard spot following Zinter’s injury, and senior Trente Jones entered the contest at right tackle.
