Our Honor Defend

I guess it was only a matter of time, but Zach Boren committed to the Buckeyes this morning. In doing so, he becomes the second Boren and former Michigan man to join Ohio State, but the first to do so on scholarship.

A family of “Michigan Men” is being converted one by one.

BuckeyeSports.com has learned that early in the morning of April 30, Pickerington (Ohio) Central linebacker/fullback Zach Boren decided to end the recruitment process and become a Buckeye, issuing a verbal commitment to Ohio State.

“I committed this morning!!” he said via text message.

The 6-1, 255-pound Boren will join his older brother, Justin, in Columbus next season. Justin Boren was a starter for Michigan during the 2007 season but withdrew from the school and decided to come to OSU instead. Mike Boren, father of both Zach and Justin, is a former Wolverine as well.

Boren informed OSU linebackers coach Luke Fickell of his plans Wednesday morning and will call head coach Jim Tressel when he gets out of school.

Boren appears to be in the discussion for linebacker, as his father noted Boren had no problem competing for a spot against Bell, Whiting and Klein. Yet, Boren might serve additional utility as a fullback, where there is definitely a need at the position. Therein, he joins Martin, Homan and injury-riddled Aram Olson in jockeying for a spot.

Zach is definitely the least heralded of the Boren brothers, as it doesn’t appear to me that the 6’1 245lb Pickerington Central product (and teammate of fellow ’09 commit Jamie Wood) is in the discussion for Army All-American honors like his brother Justin. That said, he does provide depth at both sides of the ball and, as injury scares to lineman underscore, depth is always a good thing.

Again, the big curiosity here is that the Buckeyes really need another tailback (maybe 2 more, since Hall is arguably more a backfield receiver than a ground threat), a few more wideouts (channeling Duron Carter and James Jackson) and several more defensive backs (we have 10 defensive backs graduating in the next two classes). Of course, spots are rapidly disappearing, and the Bucks could be working on 2010 recruiting by time most programs are trying to secure their first commitment.

The other latent curiosity here is the nature of the arrival of the Boren brothers to campus. We know Justin is a former Wolvereenie, and even starter. We also know that Papa Boren is one of their all-time greats. Yet, unstated in all of this is how young Zach was so attached to the Michigan program to the point of being visibly upset that Justin would even consider Ohio State when Justin was on his own recruiting trail some years ago. Something obviously changed along the way, and changed even before Justin’s fallout from the program. Zach would say early that he was no lock for Michigan and considered blazing his own trail with the Buckeyes. The nature of this change is of interest to me.

Of course, as much of a Michigan man the elder Boren was (or still is, I’d guess), he did often state (even to Bo) that he wasn’t going to force his kids into Michigan. Moreover, it’s not without precedent to see Michigan men have kids go to Ohio State, and even have said Michigan men openly root for the Buckeyes as the case of Anthony Gonzalez¹ shows. Still, the elements surrounding the Boren family is a little more complex than the case of Gonzo opting to take the offer to Ohio State in 2003.

Whatever the case, we hope this parlays into a full conversion to all things scarlet and gray. May the Boren family see the light and be healed.

:beer:

1. TJ Downing too, but I’m not as familiar with TJ Downing’s story as I am with Gonzo and his dad’s Michigan-OSU dichotomy [↩]