Justin Boren

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.

Justin Matthew Boren (born April 28, 1988) is a former American football guard.

Though a guard in the 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.

Although early enrollment had been occurring for several years, Kevin Grady had been the first at Michigan in 2005.

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.

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.

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.

During 2007 Rose Bowl practices at the end of the 2006 season, Boren had practiced exclusively at center.

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).

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 also a 2010 College Football All-America Team second-team selection by several selectors.

He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League as an undrafted free agent in 2011.

He has since played for the Ravens, Detroit Lions, and Denver Broncos.

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 lbs and squatted 660 lbs, he was regarded as Central Ohio's most sought after high school football recruit.