Justin Boren

Justin Matthew Boren (born April 28, 1988) is an American former professional football guard. Though a guard in the National Football League (NFL), Boren played both guard and center during his high school and college football career. In high school, he was widely regarded as one of the top offensive linemen in the country and one of the top football prospects in the state of Ohio. He was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and was a Parade All-American and an Associated Press All-Ohio selection. The son of 1982 and 1983 Michigan Wolverines tackles leader Mike Boren, Justin was widely recruited by the nation's top schools, including both his father's alma mater, the University of Michigan and its archrival, Ohio State University, Boren's hometown school.

After an intense recruitment, Boren choose to play at Michigan despite leaning towards attending Ohio State early in his recruitment. He played in several games as a true freshman, making one start. As a sophomore, he became a regular starter, earning 2007 All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention. When head coach Lloyd Carr retired and was replaced by Rich Rodriguez, Boren became unhappy with the new staff and transferred to Ohio State. After transferring he had to sit 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was also required to pay his own tuition, per Big Ten conference rules. He earned recognition as a selection to the 2009 and 2010 All-Big Ten team by both the coaches (second-team) and the media (first-team). He was also a 2010 College Football All-America Team second-team selection by several selectors. In 2009, he became the third player (following Howard Yerges and J. T. White) to play for both sides of the Michigan – Ohio State rivalry. He was also teammates with his brother, Zach Boren, who was a starting fullback and linebacker for the Buckeyes. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He was also a member of the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos but never played in a regular season or postseason NFL game.

Boren is Jewish, and was born in Pickerington, Ohio. He was a freshman starter at Pickerington High School Central before transferring to Pickerington High School North the following year. As a high school sophomore, Boren played guard and was an honors student. During his high school years, his father was his harshest critic. As a junior, he was listed as a nose guard on defense and an offensive tackle. That season, he earned Division I Associated Press All-Ohio High School Football Team special mention. By the time he was a junior, he was being recruited by both Ohio State, the local school, and Michigan, where his father played. As a senior who bench pressed 450 pounds (204 kg) and squatted 660 pounds (299 kg), he was regarded as Central Ohio's most sought after high school football recruit. As a result, he was selected to participate as one of 78 players in the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl where he started at left offensive guard for the East team. He was also selected to the Associated Press first-team Division I All-Central District and All-Ohio high school football teams as an offensive lineman. After committing to Michigan, he enrolled in classes at the University of Michigan in January of what would have been the end of his senior year in high school along with roommate Carlos Brown. Of all the football prospects from the state of Ohio, Boren was the only one that Ohio State was not able to lure.

Having enrolled in January 2006, Boren (and roommate Brown) were available to participate in 2006 Spring Football. Both players participated in spring practice, which was part of a national trend of more high schoolers enrolling early. Although early enrollment had been occurring for several years, Kevin Grady had been the first at Michigan in 2005.

As a freshman during the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season for the 2006 Michigan Wolverines, Boren was injured during training camp, and he did not dress in the season opener. He had suffered a broken leg. Despite being injured through the entire month of September, Boren decided not to redshirt and debuted during the Paul Bunyan Trophy rivalry game against Michigan State on October 7. Two weeks later, when Rueben Riley got injured against the Iowa Hawkeyes, he played the entire second half. On October 28, with Riley still injured, he became only the fourth true freshman to start on the Michigan offensive line in the modern era during a victory against Northwestern. The following week against Ball State, Boren saw action after Jake Long got kicked in the helmet. Boren's final action of the season came against the Indiana Hoosiers on November 11. During the 2006 season, all of his appearances were at guard. During 2007 Rose Bowl practices at the end of the 2006 season, Boren had practiced exclusively at center.

Boren had been recruited as either a center or a guard, but he preferred to play guard. In spring practice the following year, Boren was moved to center. At the end of the National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned 15 days of spring football practice, he was announced as the starting center, replacing Mark Bihl. This decision was confirmed when training camp started in the fall, even though Boren had never before played center. Thus, the starting offensive line was composed of veterans Long and Adam Kraus on the left and then Boren, right guard Jeremy Ciulla and right tackle Stephen Schilling neither of whom had ever started a game. The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was eagerly anticipated for the 2007 Wolverines with returning seniors Long, Mike Hart and Chad Henne in key roles, but the season quickly began to fall apart when the team lost to the two-time defending FCS champion Appalachian State Mountaineers in the opening game. When Ryan Mallett played in place of Henne during the September 15, Notre Dame rivalry game, left-handed snapper Boren switched positions with right-handed snapper Kraus who otherwise played left guard. The switch occurred after Mallett fumbled two snaps from Boren, whose left-handed snaps were foreign to the right-handed Mallett. The switch caused a little confusion with official starting lineups the following week when Mallett started. On September 22 against Penn State, both Boren and Kraus had casts on their snapping hands and Boren played center despite the fact that Mallett was starting. During Mallett's October 27 start in the Little Brown Jug game against Minnesota, Kraus started at center. The following week during the Paul Bunyan Trophy against Michigan State, the position switch was made permanent. After the regular season, Boren was recognized as an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. Prior to the 2008 Capital One Bowl, Boren was expected to return to center because Henne had returned to full strength. However, during the game, Boren played guard and Kraus played center. After the season, both Boren and Kraus were named to Jewish Sports Review's 2007 College Football All-America Team.

After the season, head coach Lloyd Carr was replaced by Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez' no huddle spread option offense, which used zone blocking, was a major adjustment for Boren. By the tenth day of spring practice Boren had left the team. Boren made a statement to the press regarding his decision, which included the following excerpt: "Michigan football was a family, built on mutual respect and support for each other from (former) Coach (Lloyd) Carr on down. We knew it took the entire family, a team effort, and we all worked together. . I have great trouble accepting that those family values have eroded in just a few months. . .That I am unable to perform under these circumstances at the level I expect of myself, and my teammates and Michigan fans deserve, is why I have made the decision to leave." A month later, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel announced Boren would redshirt for the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season and become the first player to transfer from Michigan to play for archrival Ohio State since at least World War II. According to Section 14.5.2.B of the Rules of Eligibility in the Big Ten handbook, Boren is ineligible to be a scholarship athlete after transferring. A little more than a week after Justin announced his transfer, his younger brother Zach committed to Ohio State. Later that summer, Detroit Free Press writer Michael Rosenberg, backed up Boren's statement about family values: "Rodriguez's staff uses some of the foulest, most degrading language imaginable. I know coaches curse, and I'm no prude, but this goes way beyond a few dirty words. He belittles his players. This is a big part of why offensive lineman Justin Boren left the team. He felt his dignity was at stake."

When Boren arrived at Ohio State at 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and 310 pounds (140 kg), he was one of the smallest offensive linemen on the team. During his redshirt season, he wore the number 56. In order to bond with his new teammates such as Alex Boone, he shaved lightning bolts into his head. While redshirtting, he stood out in practice where he performed on the scout team. In fact, during the week leading up to the final regular season game against Michigan, he wore the Winged Football Helmet that Michigan is known for as part of the scout team. The 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team included three seniors on the offensive line: Boone, Steve Rehring and Ben Person.