Don't mess with Zoltan, Michigan punter wins weekly Big Ten Conference special teams homor

October 15, 10:23 AMMichigan Wolverines ExaminerFrank Benson

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Zoltan Mesko     AP/photo

Michigan punter Zoltan Mesko knew he screwed up, even if no one else said so.

 “Everyone told me, I was fine and it was OK and I did well, but I knew I didn’t” he said.

Two weeks ago in a loss to Michigan State, Mesko tried to run for a first down and was trapped behind the line of scrimmage and the Spartans took over on downs went on to score easily.

 It was the first loss for the Wolverines after a 4-0 start.

“We trust him (Mesko),” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said of the play. “We’ll talk about it later and look at it on the film but he’s one of our veteran players and if he sees he has an opening and can make a first down, he’s told to go for that. He can make that decision.”

“The whole closed really quickly,” Mesko said.

In any event, Mesko felt he was really under the gun last week at Iowa. This time Michigan was a big underdog to an unbeaten team and this was a prime-time nationally television game.

“I felt I had to prove to my teammates that I will give them my best effort,” he said.

Mesko enjoyed his best day in a Michigan uniform, averaging a career-best 53.8-yard average. He hit four kicks over 50 yards (53, 52, 61 and 55). His average was the second-highest by a punter in school history, trailing only Don Bracken who had a 56.3 average against Northwestern in 1981.

Mesko was named the winner of the special teams player of the week in the Big Ten Conference.

Mesko leads the Big Ten and is ranked eighth in the nation with a 45.6 average this season. He has punted 30 times this year and 11 have been better than 50 yards and nine have been downed inside the 20-yard-line.

Michigan is third nationally in net punting. Mesko has helped walk-on freshman Tate Forcier who has three times punted impressively in third-down situations for Michigan.

“He has good natural instincts as a punter,” said Mesko.

Forcier, who suffered a concussion, is scheduled to start for the Wolverines on Saturday. He took part in a full practice Wednesday.

“The biggest thing for me is to not get too high or too low when I punt,” said Mesko. “It’s better if you keep an even attitude.”

Mesko was born in Romania but grew up in Twinsburg, Ohio. His father was a professional bowler and Zoltan is a three-year starter for Michigan as well as a three-time All-Academic Big Ten football player.

Last year Mesko became the first Michigan punter ever to boot for more than 3,000 yards in a season (3,436). His career-longest (68 yards) came against Ohio State in 2007. Mesko is a candidate to win the Ray Guy Award, as the nation's top punter, and he was a member of Playboy’s first-All-America team last fall.

Mesko may not get many chances to punt this weekend as the Wolverines entertain Delaware State, a team struggling at 1-3 in what used to be called I-AA and is now FBS.

This is not Delaware State, the school of Tubby Raymond and school known as the Blue Hens that wear a similar winged helmet to Michigan’s. These are the Hornets of Dover, a smaller, traditional college. One of the most famous to come out of Delaware State is John Taylor, the former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver who caught a touchdown pass from Joe Montana to win a Super Bowl game against Cincinnati.

Michigan, 4-2, has lost two straight and is hoping to right the ship. The game begins at Noon and will be televised by the Big Ten Network. It is the last non-conference game Michigan will play this year.