Zoltan Mesko Interview

                    By: Joshua Fischman

 

An Interview with Zoltan Mesko (Punter, Michigan)

Zoltan Mesko is a Romanian-born punter who plays for the Michigan Wolverines. When Zoltan was 11 years old, his parents were issued green cards in a lottery and he was able to come over to America. Zoltan's name means "King" in Romanian and he is certainly the king of punters in Michigan; when he comes into games, fans mimic the letter Z with their arms (well, according to Wikipedia anyway).

Joshua Fischman: Please talk about the season the team had, and the way it ended.

Zoltan Mesko: The season took an unexpected turn away from our initial goal of winning every game, when we lost our first two games to Appalachian State and Oregon. At that point in the season we all knew that we were not an 0-2 team. But because some things didn't go our way, we ended up in that position. We needed to regroup and refocus in order to still compete for the Big Ten title, which was still out there for the taking.

It was a great feeling to go on an eight game winning streak, before some injuries to key players took their toll on us in the final two games of the regular season. I was really proud of how the team handled itself after our disappointing start. We could have thrown in the towel, but we kept fighting the adversities that were thrown our way. In the bowl game, we took on Florida as double-digit underdogs and managed to finish the season on a high note. It was a great ending to one of the most memorable seasons I've been part of.

JF: Describe your role on the team.

ZM: I would say that my role on the team was to help out in the part of the game that is overlooked most of the time. Any special teams play can become the difference-maker in a game. And that is where I tried to do my best to give our team the best chance to win.

JF: Talk about both the atmosphere at the Capital One Bowl game and the excitement at your school after the victory.

ZM: The Capital One Bowl will be a game that I am going to remember for the rest of my life. The players and coaches all knew that it was going to be the last opportunity we would have to perform together as a unit. We wanted to do everything in our power to make it a happy ending. It was a very rewarding feeling when we won the game against the Gators, knowing that we had worked our butts off for each other. I was also very excited to see Coach Carr, a man of integrity and class, go out the way he deserved to go out.

JF: What are your goals for next season? Plans for the off-season?

ZM: My goals for the next season are to see improvement in the team as well as myself. The team has lost a lot of key performers from last season, but that is why we are Michigan; we reload every single year. I have a very positive attitude and outlook towards next season and [I] believe that everyone's hard work right now will pay off come opening day.

JF: What are you studying at Michigan? Why is it important to you?

ZM: I am currently enrolled in the Ross School of Business here at Michigan, and will be concentrating in Finance and Marketing. My degree is very important to me because, if I do not go on [to] play football at the next level, I will have a degree from Michigan to fall back on.

This concludes our interview with Zoltan Mesko. Catch Zoltan next season in exciting Big Ten football action.

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