Zoltan Mesko Learned Football Is Not Life During Career At Michigan
After emigrating from Romania, Zoltan Mesko found football by accident in Twinsburg, Ohio, but quickly he evolved into a football fanatic, following recruiting intensely even as he was being sought by both Michigan and Ohio State in 2005.
Mesko redshirted his first year, split reps in 2006 and then took the job outright his final three seasons, his booming punts becoming the stuff of legends.
An All-Big Ten first-team performer in 2008-09, Mesko averaged 42.5 yards per punt during his career, ranking third all time at U-M. His 44.46-yard average in 2009 is the third-best single-season effort for a Wolverine while he is the only punter in school history to accumulate more than 10,000 punting yards (10,703).
Mesko went on to punt for the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers.
In this interview, he takes us on his incredible journey, offers his thoughts on the 2005 Michigan recruiting class, how his ego impacted his football career early on, the transition from Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez, and much more.
