Rookie adjusting to NFL with help from Michigan ‘friend group’
BEREA — The next stage of Zak Zinter’s life, as well as football career, started in earnest Friday with the opening of the Browns’ rookie minicamp. However, before he took that next step, he checked in again with those closest to him from his previous stage at the University of Michigan.
For all of them, it was one more chance to catch up before starting the opportunities of their lives in the NFL. It was also just another chance to be a group of early-20-somethings who haven’t gotten all the way away from college to play a little Call of Duty and just escape from the world.
“We were on a group Facetime call for probably an hour and a half two days before we all got on the plane to come here,” Zinter said. “I mean, it’s just shooting the s***, catching up. I mean, you listen to that conversation, you’re like, what is going on here? And then we hop on the video game and we’re talking over the headset and playing, that kind of stuff. So I mean, even just comparing like, Hey, how was your day? You guys do all that kind of stuff. I mean, it’s unbelievable to have that kind of friend group.”
One of those on the group chat with Zinter was Karsen Barnhart. While the former was preparing to start his life as a third-round draft pick of the Browns, the latter was in Los Angeles, trying to make it as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers, coached by their former college head coach, Jim Harbaugh.
While at Michigan, it was Zinter and Barnhart who were
just on the field, but off the field as well,” Jenkins said of his first two days with the other rookies and coaches. “And I’m looking forward to, you know, really digging my feet into that culture, getting set into that, because I just have a feeling, coming from where I came from, really how important the Bengals, the ‘Who Dey’ means to everybody here and I really want to make a positive impact.”
The Bengals clearly believe in Jenkins, a threeyear starter who led the nation’s top-ranked defense on a national championship team at Michigan. He was known by his teammates and coaches as “The Mutant” for his strength, athleticism and work ethic.
Head coach Zac Taylor and defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo spoke during draft weekend about how long they were staring at Jenkins’ name on their draft board, hoping he would still be available to them when their first pick on Day 2 came around. He’ll have a chance to serve an important role in the rotation at defensive tackle, known as a strong run stopper with the ability to improve in the pass
rush as well.
Being a Bengal “means everything” to Jenkins because of how “Who Dey Nation” believed in him and accepted him. Since Jenkins was drafted, the fan base seems to have embraced him as well, which he said is probably because of his smile. Jenkins brings an infectious energy to the room, but he’s also serious about his work and he plans to make the most of his opportunity.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s an honor, but like I said, I haven’t done nothing yet,” Jenkins said. “And I want to continue to prove that, and that’s why I’m excited to work with the vets and learn from them, learn from the coaches, learn from my guys in here because it’s just like I said, this is an unbelievable opportunity for me. And you know, it’s an honor to have so many people believe in me that, you know, I want to give them something back.”
Jenkins said he hasn’t stopped smiling since the draft, “a dream come true” for the son of a Pro Bowler looking forward to making a name for himself. He was excited to get started Thursday with orientation and Friday with rookie minicamp.
The former Michigan captain takes pride in trying
to set the tone as a leader, and he’s already doing that with the rookie class. He’s still got to earn the respect of the veterans and learn from them, but trying to stay vocal with the new guys coming in with him.
First-round pick Amarius Mims said Jenkins is the “loudest” on the rookie text chain. Jenkins acknowledged he’s just “a weird dude,” always willing to break the ice and be real with people.
“Obviously, there’s business to take care of, but if we’re bonding, I’ll just be the random guy that sends some random meme where maybe you get it, maybe you don’t get it, but it was a meme there,” Jenkins said. “Or, I’ll just send like a random photo in the chat or something like that.”
“We clicked the second we got here, like you got so many good guys, so many good guys with character all around us, all across this room, you know, that I met with yesterday and today. So really just getting my feet in with them, just like getting to know the guys introducing ourselves, it’s been a heck of an honor already. And we just started, so really just getting an opportunity to be a sponge right now and go from there.”