If Justin Boren's departure from Michigan wasn't stunning enough, now comes the likelihood that the offensive lineman will be transferring to rival Ohio State in the fall.Boren, an expected starter, left in a huff, saying that the "family values" he had grown accustomed to while playing for Michigan had "eroded in just a few months" under Rich Rodriguez.
Then Boren's father, Mike, a former linebacker at Michigan, told the Columbus Dispatch: "Ohio State would be a good fit for Justin, and that's why he's not at Michigan anymore, because Michigan is not the right fit for him."
If the Buckeyes lock up Justin, then his brother Zach, a highly rated fullback prospect out of Pickerington, Ohio, is likely to follow.
"I'm not going to have two kids at two universities," said Mike, who is one of those dads that likes to call the shots.
A story that appeared last Sept. 28 in the Detroit Free Press detailed the relationship between Mike and Justin.
"In high school at halftime he used to be at the gate, and if I was having a bad game, he'd just rip into me on the way to the locker room. ... It got ugly, a couple times the sheriffs wanted to escort me away," Justin said.
Mike, who runs a landscaping business, said Justin would often call from Ann Arbor to see how things were going back home.
"I say, 'Justin, don't worry about me or our business,' " Mike said. "He's more focused on here than him playing football. It's 'Dad, what did you do for the company today?' I say, 'What the hell did you do to become a better player?' "
Nonetheless, Boren's decision sent the locals searching for the real reason behind his departure from Michigan. And it left Rodriguez defending his program.
He told the Ann Arbor News: "Anybody who would make any comment about our values is way off-base. ... My players and my coaches are my family. They're coached that way. But we're not going to apologize for being demanding. We told that to the players. We also told them our job is to take them some place they can't take themselves, on the field and off the field, and I think the majority of our players understand that."
12 comments:
as anybody made the jump form Michigan to Ohio State, or vice versa?
Rodriguez quote "my players and my coaches are my family" He sure as heck didn't feel that way at WVU dumping them before a BCS bowl game. Good luck Michigan because you're gonna need it.
This guy's going to Ohio St. in search of family values? Good luck.
Good giggley wiggley people! It's Michigan! Big Blue! And Ohio State! Big Blech! Who gives a piper's toot? Blue skies are good for skydiving. Blue water is good for sailing. Buckeyes make good sling shot ammo. That's about it!
Let's all root for Wisconsin! On Wisconsin! On Wisconsin! C'mon! SING IT!
Boren just wants to burn some couches and riot in the streets before his undergrad days are done. Columbus is just the place for him. With his OSU education, he might get a soft job in the prison library after he becomes one of the very few student criminals that the gutless city government chooses to prosecute.
i'm not here to defend either of these schools, but michigan being allowed to pull the 'we are a better school' thing has sailed.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/academics/stories/index.ssf/2008/03/athletes_steered_to_prof.html
"I'm not going to have two kids at two universities," said Mike, who is one of those dads that likes to call the shots."
Glad my dad wasn't an over bearing douche bag!
Haha. If he didn't want to run, good riddance. (He mentioned something about how he didn't want to run to his field position somewhere along the line.) I guess Barwis really is a little more badass than Gittleson's "eat a pizza every night to gain weight" S&C program.
Is it possible, douchebag UM fans, that there are "burning couches" and such in higher numbers in Columbus because, you know, Columbus is a city approaching 1 million people with an OSU campus bordered by the g-h-e-t-t-o, while Ann Arbor is a sleepy little shallow gene pool berg?
I'd worry more about Godfather Rod and less about Tress.
One more thing...6-1.
"an OSU campus bordered by the g-h-e-t-t-o"
Wait, are you defending OSU or insulting it? I can't tell.
"He sure as heck didn't feel that way at WVU dumping them before a BCS bowl game. Good luck Michigan because you're gonna need it."
The fact is that he left because of the administration. In recent interviews, former players have done nothing but wish Rodriguez well. Slaton and others are, in fact, training with Barwis in Ann Arbor.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08073/864685-144.stm
"SLATON: You figured it would happen. But I think they should be happy for him. He's from West Virginia and he can make his mark at Michigan better and maybe one day be in the coaching Hall of Fame. I'm happy for him 'cause he gave me a chance to play running back when a lot of teams wouldn't have given me the chance.
REYNAUD: Did I have any anger about Coach Rod [leaving]? I never did. [The fans] took it the worst."
RIVERS: That's what he said to us, it was [the administration] trying to destroy what he was building with the program. This was his dream job. Michigan wasn't his dream job. That front office ...
SLATON: Look what Coach Rod did for West Virginia. Everybody forgets about that. After the Sugar Bowl [in 2006], they got spoiled.
All this crap about Rodriguez abandoning WVU is a fantasy spun by the administration and hurt feelings from fans.
It is freakin' hilarious hearing Michigan fans run down OSU fans for being classless jerks. The only difference between the two is OSU fans don't continually whine and bitch the referees robbd them.
To Andrew: I would not expect anything but loyalty from Steve, Darius and Vaughn. They are good kids who appreciate what RROD has done for them. And they are working out with Barwis since they know him best and he is GREAT at what he does.
That being said when a coach quits his team before what is arguably one of the biggest bowl games in school history, I would call that abandoning.
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