CHICAGO — If you ask Jake Butt and Jourdan Lewis why they elected to go back to Michigan and turn down millions of dollars from the NFL, their responses are almost essentially same.
They want to win a Big Ten and national championships.
That's a reason anyone goes to Michigan or Ohio State, but until Jim Harbaugh's arrival in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines struggled to put together 10-win seasons with any consistency. Their shortcomings against the Buckeyes are well documented — just two wins against the Buckeyes since 2001.
Lewis and Butt are winless against Ohio State in their careers. They didn't say having another shot to beat the Buckeyes — in Columbus, no less, where Butt is from — is the main reason they came back. Just simply winning big is the most important part.
"That didn't factor too much, about where we were playing or anything," Butt said Monday at Big Ten Media Days. "That's definitely a goal. We want to win all of our rivalry games. It was part of the decision, but it wasn't the whole decision."
Lewis added: "Ohio State, it really didn't factor into my decision. I wanted to win a Big Ten Championship and national championship. I wanted to see the guys around me succeed. That's what got me back."
Michigan lost to Ohio State 42-13 at home last November and to Michigan State a month earlier in one of the wackiest endings you'll see — the Spartans recovered a muffed punt and ran it to the end zone on the last play of the game to win 27-23.
Rivalry games mean more in college sports. If Butt and Lewis want a shot at glory on a national level under second-year coach Jim Harbaugh, they'll need to come out on the winning side in both of those contests in order to have a shot. That's the beauty of the Big Ten East.
"You want to win every game you play. The reality of it is it's not going to be like that," Butt said. "I came back this year, we're going to have another shot at them. We have plenty of other games on the schedule that we're going to need to win before we see them."
Butt said he truly found himself becoming a Wolverine when he witnessed Brady Hoke's 2011 squad top Ohio State 40-34 in person. A graduate of Pickerington North High School, he said those closest to him back home rib him appropriately by saying they want him to do well all season. Except against Ohio State.
"I can respect that," Butt said.
But neither guy — who draft analysts tabbed as early round picks had they turned pro last year — said a chance to beat Ohio State played a major role in their decision to come back.
They feel a huge shift under Harbaugh and truly believe 2016 can be exceptional.
"After you saw those 10 wins, we knew that we could be something special," Lewis said. "Once we knew that, we bought in. We said, 'those four-hour practices aren't so bad because we're tallying up wins.' Trying to be a part of something special. He's bringing something magical back in Ann Arbor."
"This is the reason we all came in together as a class," Butt said. "We had dreams of winning Big Ten championships and national championships. I think if we put in the work this year, we work hard, we prepare the way I know we're capable of, we can have a real special season."
