Urban Meyer put the offer on the table.
“There’s a standing commitment on our end,” Meyer said last week on his weekly radio show. “If there’s another Boren walking around the streets, we’ll find a way to get him in here at Ohio State.”
That won't happen anytime soon, of course, as the Buckeyes’ current starting center Jacoby Boren is the final of three Boren brothers to play at Ohio State. Jacoby’s two older brothers, Zach and Justin, donned the scarlet and gray before he did.
But on Monday, Jacoby didn’t rule out the possibility of future Borens suiting up for the Buckeyes down the road. Boren said he hoped he wouldn’t be the last in his family to play in the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.
“Hopefully, I am not the last,” he said. “Hopefully we will have the next generation coming through.”
Perhaps no one playing in Saturday’s matchup between the Buckeyes and Wolverines understands the rivalry better. Boren grew up in it; he has been part of it all his life.
Boren’s father, Mike, played linebacker at Michigan from 1980-83. His mother, Hope, also attended Michigan and was on the track and field team.
The oldest of the three brothers, Justin, began his career following in his father’s footsteps, playing for the Wolverines during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, then transferred to Ohio State after Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez and started on the Buckeyes’ offensive line in 2009 and 2010. The middle brother, Zach, played both fullback and linebacker at Ohio State from 2009 to 2012.
Then there’s Jacoby, who is finishing up his senior season this year for the third-ranked Buckeyes. His family has played in a lot of college football games and, more specifically, a lot of Ohio State-Michigan matchups.
Jacoby Boren has seen this thing from both sides.
“I think a lot of people that have just played in the game have a great understanding of it, but I think I might have a little different perspective,” Jacoby said. “Growing up I was a fan of up there and I was around, my dad knew coach Schembechler well and was around him so I guess I have a great appreciation for that aspect of it, but pretty much anyone that plays in this rivalry knows what it is about and they know it is a tough, hard-hitting game and that is what it is.”
Even though Mike Boren played for Michigan, Jacoby said his dad hasn’t had a tough time rooting for the Buckeyes while his children are playing there. The Borens live in Pickerington, Ohio, located just outside of Columbus.
“I think it is pretty easy for him,” he said. “My parents are all about us and they put their kids above everything else so I think it was pretty easy when we flipped he was going to flip over with us.”
Jacoby Boren is part of a senior class that can wrap up a perfect career against archrival Michigan should the Buckeyes come out victorious on Saturday; Jacoby is 3-0 against the Wolverines in his career. Zach Boren went 3-1 in the rivalry; Justin and Mike were each 2-2.
He’s the youngest in the family, but also has a chance to be the only one to finish his college career undefeated.
“There are not many people that can say they have done that so that would be an awesome accomplishment for us,” Jacoby said.
The Boren family has been around the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry longer than just about anyone. Saturday’s game will be the final chapter in that story, though.
For now, anyway.
“It is humbling to just see like my dad, Justin and Zach play in this game and it is humbling for me to kind of be in the same footsteps and know that we've had a great opportunity,” Jacoby Boren said. “Not many people get to play in this game and to know that we have had four people in my family is humbling. It is a great experience and it is the best rivalry game around so I am just thankful to be a part of it.”
