Mike Sainristil ( ; born October 3, 2000) is a Haitian American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

, winning three Big Ten Conference titles and a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

in 2023. Sainristil was selected by the Commanders in the second round of the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

Early life

Sainristil was born on October 3, 2000, in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

, the capital of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. He and his family left the country when he was seven months old after his father, a radio station director, received threats following the

2000 Haitian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Haiti on 26 November 2000. The opposition parties, organised into the recently created Convergence Démocratique, boycotted the election after disputing the results of the parliamentary elections. The result wa ...

. The family settled in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Everett was the last city in the ...

, where Sainristil later attended Everett High School. As a senior, Sainristil was named Massachusetts' 2018

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

after 30 receptions for 762 yards and 12 touchdowns as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

with six interceptions as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

, helping Everett reach the Division 1 North Sectional semifinals. He concluded his high school career with 28 receiving touchdowns.

College career

In November 2018, Sainristil committed to play

for the

Wolverines The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The wolverine ...

at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. He enrolled early and turned heads in Michigan's 2019 spring practice. Michigan's defensive coaches sought to use him as a cornerback, but the offensive staff won out in having him as a wide receiver. Despite his strong showing in spring practice, Sainristil saw limited time as a true freshman, catching eight passes for 145 yards and his first collegiate touchdown against Notre Dame, on October 26, 2019, totaling 73 yards in the game. With the departure of receivers Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black, and Nico Collins, Sainristil played a larger role in Michigan's offense during the 2020 and 2021 season. In 2022, Sainristil moved to cornerback. He finished his first collegiate season on defense with 58 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 7 pass breakups and his first career interception on a pass throw by Max Duggan in the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

. He was named All-Big Ten honorable mention following the season. In 2023, Sainristil was voted a captain for a second consecutive season. He was named a first-team All-American by

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, finishing the season with 44 tackles, 1 sack, 6 interceptions, 2 returned for touchdowns and 2 forced fumbles. Sainristil was named the MVP of the 2023 Big Ten Championship Game and recorded the game-clinching interception in the

2024 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship (officially known as the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game that was played on January 8, 2024, ...

, intercepting

Michael Penix Jr. Michael Tarrence Penix Jr. ( ; born May 8, 2000) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). After three seasons of college football with the Indiana Hoosiers ...

and returning it 81 yards.

Statistics

Professional career

Sainristil was selected by the

in the second round (50th overall) of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on June 11, 2024. Sainristil recorded his first career interception in Week 6 against the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

. He forced and recovered his first

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

in Week 13 against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, becoming the third rookie in team history to have done both in a single game. Sainristil was named the NFL Rookie of the Week after recording 10 tackles and 3 pass breakups in the regular season finale, finishing the season as the team's leader in interceptions with two. He finished the 2024 regular season with 93 tackles, 14 pass deflections, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. In the Divisional Round playoff game against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, he recorded two interceptions that helped advanced the Commanders to the

NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...

Statistics

Personal life

Sainristil’s first child, a daughter, was born in 2024.

References

External links

*
Washington Commanders profile

Michigan Wolverines profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainristil, Mike 2000 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Haitian sportsmen All-American college football players American football cornerbacks American football wide receivers Haitian players of American football Living people Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Everett, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Port-au-Prince Washington Commanders players