By Joe Vanden Acker
Lawrence Today magazine, Fall 2003
The Monmouth College defensive backs are probably still scratching their heads. How did this guy who isn’t the biggest, fastest, or strongest wide receiver in NCAA Division III just torch us for a 96-yard touchdown catch?
Ours is not to question why; it is simply to watch Lawrence University wide receiver Zach Michael, ’04, work and enjoy every second of it.
Michael is enjoying a record-setting career for the Vikings, and he had the finest day ever enjoyed by a Lawrence receiver at Monmouth in 2001. On that day at Bobby Woll Field, the three-time All-Midwest Conference selection showed everyone why he should be regarded as one of the top receivers in all of Division III. He broke school records with 15 catches for 279 yards and capped the day with that school-record 96-yard touchdown catch.
“I was running a post [pattern], and we were just hoping to catch them off-guard a little bit,” Michael remembers. “R.J. Rosenthal [’04] threw a beautiful pass, and the next thing you know I’m running down the field. My first reaction was ‘Someone is going to catch me from behind, because this is too good to be true.’ When I took a peek over my shoulder and realized I was a good ten yards ahead of everyone else, my second reaction was ‘Oh my goodness!’”
The records he broke that day belonged to a pair of Lawrence All-Americans, Sal Cianciola, ’55, and Ron Wopat, ’78. With his senior season yet to play, Michael has already broken the career records for receptions with 187, which Ed Lamm, ’94, had set at 152, and for yards with 2,966, topping the mark of 2,394 set by All-American Paul Gebhardt, ’80.
“The records don’t come to mind during the season. You take it week-to-week, and the numbers come,” Michael says. “After the season, when the awards come, is when you can reflect on it.”
Lawrence fans came close to having to cheer against Michael rather than for him. After a stellar prep career at Appleton East High School, where he played for another Lawrence All-American, Coach Pat Schwanke, ’83, he was set to attend (gasp) Ripon College.
Conversations with Lawrence Head Football Coach Dave Brown and Assistant Coach Korey Krueger, ’95, helped to change that. Michael recalls, “The pieces fit. I was close to home, and I couldn’t pass up the educational experience."
A biology major with no set plans just yet for the future, Michael was looking to fill the shoes of Stacy Seidl, ’00, another record-setting receiver from Appleton East.
“I was very confident in my abilities and everything,” he says. “With the graduation of Stacy, I knew they needed someone to come in and get the job done. I just took advantage of the opportunity.
“There was a little adjustment period, being a freshman coming into a college program and being the guy they are going to throw the ball to, but I didn’t feel any of the pressure; it was just going out and doing what I had to do.”
Michael acted like a veteran from day one. He caught six passes for 85 yards and touchdown in the 2000 season-opener at Macalester College. He finished the season with 58 catches for 904 yards and 11 touchdowns and earned All-Midwest Conference and USA Football Freshman All-America honors.
“The biggest thing is, he has such a great understanding of the game and our offense,” Coach Brown says. “He knows how to get open and how to stay open. He has a great knack for that. Some of that he’s learned through the years, and the other part is just God-given talent and ability.”
Michael’s position coach, offensive coordinator Joe Leadley, coached three All-America wide receivers at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh before joining the Lawrence staff. He says Michael has improved tremendously over the past two seasons and compares favorably with the All-Americans he has coached, Rob Stoltz, Ryan Hinske, and Jon May.
Leadley cites Michael’s ability to get a release from tight coverage at the line of scrimmage and then still beat the double coverage that awaits him farther into the secondary.
“To accomplish those things and then catch the ball and make a play is tremendous,” Leadley says.
The kicker is that Michael doesn’t possess the sprinter’s speed of May, the pure physical strength of Hinske, or the tremendous size of Stoltz.
Yet, on game day, Leadley says, “He gets it done. He’s accomplished those things in our system and in that environment of being the focus of the other team’s defense.”
Brown agrees that Michael has the numbers indicative of an All-American, but the team needs more wins for the wide receiver to receive the national acclaim he deserves.
“If we can put together a winning season, that would be the culmination of everything he’s done,” Brown says. “With the honors Zach has garnered, I think he fits right in with that company. Such a big focus of our offense was getting the ball to him. He has put up tremendous numbers, not only in our conference, but nationally. With a guy like Justin Berrens [’04] in the backfield to take some of the pressure off, we can really see how good a player Zach is when he doesn’t have two or three guys all over him all the time.”
Any time Michael reads too many of his own press clippings or basks in the limelight a little too long, he has an easy way to come back to earth, a way to realize he has been blessed with tremendous athletic gifts. He simply looks into the faces of some very sweet children.
For two years, Michael has been a coach in the Challenger Division of Appleton Little League baseball. The Challenger Division allows boys and girls with physical or mental disabilities to experience the fun and fellowship of the game. The Appleton teams get together every other Sunday during the summer at Einstein Middle School, and Michael is right in the middle of the action.
Michael’s younger sister, 13-year-old Katie Dodge, spurred him to get involved. Katie’s right side has been partially paralyzed since birth, but that doesn’t stop her from taking the field with her big brother. Michael pitches to the children, and the smiles, shouts of joy, and banter between players, coaches, and parents make the ballpark come alive.
During one game, a boy calls for Michael to throw him a curveball. He takes a mighty swing and misses. “Throw me that one again,” the boy challenges Michael, who complies and sees his next pitch hit hard past shortstop.
“It’s an extremely humbling experience,” Michael says. “Some people aren’t fortunate enough to be in my shoes. It keeps me from getting a big head about myself.”
It appears to be a mutual admiration society between big brother and little sister. Michael takes great pride in watching Katie and draws strength from her achievements on and off the field. Katie is her big brother’s No. 1 fan and a fixture in the Banta Bowl on Saturday afternoons. She is quick to rattle off his achievements and even quicker to tell you what a great player he is.
As a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, Michael’s community service extends beyond the Challenger Division. Along with other members of the fraternity, he is involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters in Appleton and also has lent a hand with a variety of fundraisers for local charities.
Michael’s focus changes from a summer filled with work, Little League baseball, and recreation to a fall of football that’s all about winning. As much as he appreciates the accolades, what he really wants is to win, period.
“That’s the common goal of everyone on the team. We have quite a few seniors,” he says, “and all of us understand that it’s now or never. If we don’t turn it around, what can we say that we did for the Lawrence football program?”
