Football
Boren Defection Adds Spice to Otherwise Bland Michigan Week
By Brandon CastelIt's been called the greatest rivalry in all of sports.
For 10 years, it wasn't just football, it was war.
And yet with three days to go before the 106th installment of the Ohio State-Michigan game, there isn't a single compelling storyline to be found.
Save for one.
In a year where the Buckeyes are favored by two touchdowns on the road and the only real thing victory would do for Michigan is secure them certain and impending doom against Central Michigan in the former Motor City Bowl now Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, it's the story of Justin Boren that has spiced up an on otherwise bland Michigan week.
A kid from Columbus who originally snubbed the hometown Buckeyes to follow his father's footsteps to Ann Arbor to play for Lloyd Carr, Boren burned the Wolverines and new Head Coach Rich Rodriguez not just once but twice.
Justin Boren After earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors at left guard as a sophomore at Michigan, Boren left the program before playing his first game under Rodriguez, citing an erosion of family values. If that wasn't enough to infuriate the Michigan faithful, he pulled the ultimate stunner by choosing to play for the school's bitter archrival.
"At first I didn't believe it because Michigan guys … you know, Michigan and Ohio State, I didn't think anybody would do that," OSU defensive end Lawrence Wilson said.
"This is his week. I remember when he first came here and all the talk and all the messages he was showing me, and then he went off to the media and said some things about Michigan. That's probably why he's not out here right now," senior offensive lineman Jim Cordle said during Ohio State's Michigan media day.
"But he's pumped up for this one and I know those guys are going to be going after him. He'll be ready for it."
But Boren's former teammates aren't waiting until Saturday to get after him. Senior defensive end Brandon Graham can't wait to get a shot at his former teammate in the Big House and wasted no time letting the world know just how feels about Michigan's enemy of the state.
"That was just an excuse about why he wanted to leave," Graham told the Detroit Free Press in regards to Boren's comments after he left. "He put that on himself. He didn't give (the coaches) a chance when they got here, and he was just so used to the coach Carr era, he didn't want to get used to nothing else.
"It's just somebody who shouldn't have been here in the first place," Graham said. "That's over and done with. Justin we will see on Saturday, and I hope he can contain our D-line."
OSU linebacker Austin Spitler said he feels Saturday will be the first time this season where quarterback Terrelle Pryor isn't the most targeted player on the team, but Boren won't be alone as he takes on Graham and Michigan defensive line.
"They probably will come after him, but guys like Jimmy (Cordle) and (Mike) Brewster and Big B (Bryant Browning), they're not going to let too many things happen to Boren, so I'm not really worried about (him)," OSU defensive tackle Doug Worthington said.
"He's a fiery guy, in practice he gets after it, and this is the team that he played for that obviously didn't go well for him and he probably has a little bit of bad blood with that Maize and Blue. So it'll be good to see Boren go out there and just be able to rip some guys apart."
Worthington knows firsthand how tough Boren can be in the trenches, and not just from facing him in practice every day for the last two years. The two actually went head-to-head as sophomores back in 2007, which was the last time either of them played in Michigan Stadium.
"We battled a lot and he actually got me a few times and I got him a few times, and he kept coming and that's the type of guys he's always been," Worthington said.
Justin Boren and brother Zach Boren "He's a man among boys, I call him Baby Huey because he's only 21 years old and he's huge and strong, so he knows what he's going to go up there. It's good to have a guy like that who knows the other side a little bit better and he can kind of give us little sneak tips on it."
The idea of getting tips from Boren on the Michigan players seems natural considering he got to see most of the upperclassmen every day in practice for two years, but it wasn't too long ago Worthington and the Buckeyes were worried that maybe he was going to be giving his former teammates tips about them.
"When we first heard it we were thinking, wow that is ridiculous is somebody from Michigan really about to come down here and transfer to play with us? He had been in Maize and Blue so long we didn't know if he was as little infiltrator, but he shows his loyalty every day and he's a hard worker and it'll be good to go play with him this Saturday."
Asked if the team ever passed on along false information just to make sure Boren wasn't an informant, Worthington said, "No, we should have, but we didn't do that. I might give him a little bit of information this week and see if they call on him, but he wouldn't do that."
Based on Graham's comments, it's safe to say they wouldn't even ask.
"Some people just leave because they feel they were better than what they are. Not trying to put that much work into it, the coaches tell them if you work a little harder and get into film and do extra, you can get out there. But a lot of people just get lazy because they think it comes to them."
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