Dispatch reported that scUM offered on Friday.
I'm not sure that the Buckeyes will be able to overcome the family connections to Michigan.
Ex-Wolverine is in middle of contest to recruit son
Pickerington North’s Boren sought by Michigan, OSU
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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</td></tr> <tr><td class="credit" width="200"> TIM REVELL | DISPATCH </td></tr> <tr><td class="cutline" width="200">Pickerington North offensive lineman Justin Boren grew up a Michigan fan. </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody> </table>
As Mike Boren recalled, Bo Schembechler wasn’t sure what to make of the news that Boren’s older son was considering a scholarship offer to play football for Ohio State.
Boren, a Columbus native, played for Schembechler at Michigan, where he was a standout linebacker in the early 1980s. Now Boren’s son Justin, a junior at Pickerington North, is considered one of the top offensive line prospects in the country.
He received a scholarship offer from Ohio State more than a year ago. An offer from Michigan coach Lloyd Carr arrived Friday.
The tug of war is on.
As far as Schembechler was concerned, though, there is nothing to discuss.
"Bo just said, ‘He’s your son. You tell him where he’s going to go,’ " Mike Boren said with a laugh. "But I told Bo, ‘I’m not going to tell him where to go. He has to make this decision for himself.’ "
If anything, Boren has cautioned his son not to be hasty.
"My dad wants me to go through the process, to take all five official visits, because he said it’s a great experience, and you never know, there might be another school out there that surprises me," Justin Boren said. "So my doors are wide open, and I am going to keep them that way for a little while."
Justin, who plans to graduate next winter to facilitate an early move to college, expects to commit before the 2005 highschool season. His father will back that decision, as long as it’s based on more than just football.
"It’s a privilege to have this opportunity," Justin Boren said. "I’m looking at it not just for football but also to get a good education. Football is not going to last forever."
On that topic, father knows best. Mike Boren left Eastmoor High School for Michigan in 1980 intent on someday playing in the NFL. He might have, too, if he hadn’t suffered a knee injury his senior season.
"I took football for granted, and then when I didn’t have football anymore, I about cried," Mike Boren said.
Upon leaving Michigan, he had a degree in education, but he had no desire to be a teacher or a coach. That he has become the owner of three successful businesses is more of a testament to his work ethic.
"He went after a major in college that he hasn’t used his whole life," Justin Boren said. "He went to college, he said, just to play football. And he has told me, ‘Do as I say, not as I did.’
"He wants me to get an education I can use, because he went to college to play football and it came back to bite him in the butt."
Justin Boren will seek a major in construction management or civil engineering. Which is why now is not the time to play favorites, at least with his heart.
"I was always a big Michigan fan; I hated Ohio State growing up," Boren said. "But I got around to seeing it’s not all about what college you like. It’s about what college is best for you."
If you think Schembechler is having a hard time understanding that philosophy, Mike Boren said, you ought to talk with Justin’s 13-year-old brother, Zach.
"He is such a huge Michigan fan, and he is so sick about Justin even contemplating going to Ohio State, he is crying," Mike Boren said. "But Justin has got to make his own decision. And I told Zach, when it comes his time, he’ll have to make his own decision, too."