Mike Sainristil Staking Claim As One Of Michigan's Fastest, Most Upbeat Players

Michigan wide receiver is quick on the field and he's been quick to bond with his Wolverine teammates as well.

Given that in 2020 Michigan will need to replace a high volume of production from wide receivers Nico Collins and Donovan Peoples-Jones, the performance of each current U-M pass catcher becomes all the more important.

Mike Sainristil, a player who only logged eight catches and one touchdown a year ago, is expected to be a big part of Michigan's offense this year, and he's worked hard on his technique in recent months. Everyone knows that Sainristil is a speedster, but it is his attention to detail that might help him win playing time in 2020. 

"Since last year, one thing Coach Gattis has always been very big on is style of play, which means if we call an RPO and the ball doesn't come to you and we hand it off-- style of play means once you see the ball hasn't come to you, turn and find a blocker, get downfield or make a block for someone else," Sainristil said on Thursday. "On regular run plays, we have our back-side cut off blocks, which we like to call our touchdown blocks because you never know as Coach Gattis says if the ball can bang, bend or bounce, and the running back can find you. So, we always make sure that we're doing our part of the job as being one of the 11 on the field."

That type of commitment to making rushing plays successful will help Sainristil make an impact, but he has not neglected his ability in the receiving game either.

"Catching the ball, that's something I've been working on and focusing on," Sainristil said. "Coach [Josh] Gattis wants to give everybody focus points for practice, and that's the first thing he mentioned is just making sure I'm catching everything off the tips. I continue working on details and technique, but at the end of the day once the ball is in the air you have to make a play, so that's something I'm continuously working on."

Putting together his ability in the passing game with a focused, physical approach to run blocking will help Sainristil entrench his role in the offense right away, but the Michigan sophomore has a different role on the team too, one that may be even more important to overall success.

"I think the type of guy I am, I'm just very positive, and I like to bring the best out of those around me, whether that's in the weight room, on the field, off the field," Sainristil said. "I just like to see the best in everyone that's around me. I like to be like an energizer bunny like I've mentioned before. I'm just bringing the competitive nature out of people. Even on the defensive side, some of our corners come to me and ask what do I see in their game that they can work on. Likewise, I ask what I can do to beat press coverage or how do I determine off-man or a bail corner, something like that. I just really enjoy bringing the best out of those around me."

In hockey, players like that are described as "glue guys" because they help keep the team together, and Sainristil sounds like he's one of the glue guys for Michigan's 2020 squad as well.

What do you think will be Sainristil's final statline in 2020? How many touchdowns will the dynamic sophomore wind up with? Let us know!