Preston Zinter holds the TE · Backup spot in Rice Owls’s tight end room. Where he sits among the room’s front-line roles:

Preston Zinter is a 6'2", 254-pound tight end from North Andover, Massachusetts, who transferred to Rice from Notre Dame. At Central Catholic High School, he earned Boston Globe Defensive Player of the Year honors as a junior, recording 62 tackles and nine tackles for loss while adding 39 receptions. He was a consensus three-star recruit in the 2023 class. During three seasons at Notre Dame, Zinter appeared in 30 games across defense and special teams, totaling 10 tackles. In 2025, he saw action in 10 of 12 games with 18 defensive snaps and a career-high 211 special teams plays. Zinter will transition to tight end for the Owls and is pursuing an MBA at Rice.

Notre Dame2023 – 2025

Rice2026 — present