The son of two Michigan alumni, Justin Boren was supposed to graduate from his father’s alma mater and continue the family tradition. Instead, he changed it.

After two years of playing for the Wolverines, Boren made the decision to transfer from the same school that his father, Mike, had played linebacker at from 1980-83 and that his mother, Hope, ran track at from 1979-82.

A Pickerington North High School graduate, he decided to head back home to Columbus and play for Ohio State, becoming just the third player to play for both sides of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, and the first to do so post-World War II.

Boren transferred in spring 2008, following the retirement of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr. He released a statement explaining his transfer, claiming, “family values have eroded” under Carr’s replacement, Rich Rodriguez.

Under Big Ten rules, a player who transfers to a school within the conference is ineligible to receive a scholarship from his new school. Boren said that he had no doubt in his mind where he would be playing after he left Michigan.

“When I was getting recruited I got offers from a ton of schools across the nation, but I always told them right when they offered me ‘I appreciate it, but I’m either going to Ohio State or Michigan,'” Boren said. “When I transferred from Michigan I knew that the only other place that I wanted to go was Ohio State.”

After spending the 2007 season starting all 13 games on the offensive line for the Wolverines, under NCAA transfer rules, Boren was ineligible to play for the Buckeyes in 2008, and instead spent it on the OSU scout team.

“That was really hard,” Boren said. “Having started and played two years in a row and really getting into college football, then having to come here and be on the scout team and not play, it was tough, but it was something that I had to do and last year was awesome to finally be able to play again.”

Once eligible, Boren immediately jumped into the Buckeyes starting line-up, starting 11 games at left guard and getting first team all-Big Ten selection by the media. He wasn’t the only Boren to start for the Buckeyes in 2009 — his brother, Zach, served as OSU’s first-string fullback as a true freshman.

“It’s awesome. Zach’s a great athlete; he’s done a good job for us,” Justin said. “Sometimes I take it for granted when I look in the huddle in the middle of a game and Zach’s there. It’s pretty neat.”

When it was Zach, not Justin, who was named Offensive Lineman of the Week following OSU’s win over Illinois in 2010, Justin teased his younger brother and told him to put the award in perspective.

“They announced that I’m like ‘I don’t know Zach, that must mean that all they care about you for is as a blocker,'” Justin said. “He always dreams about getting the ball and I said ‘if you get the Offensive Linemen of the Week award, you’re not getting the ball.'”

According to Zach, his older brother’s decision to join the Buckeyes played a major role in his own decision to help transfer his family’s legacy to OSU.

“Justin didn’t have everything to do with it. But when he transferred here, I knew for sure that this was the place,” Zach said. “No one cares about Michigan at all anymore. That was in the past and we’re all looking forward to being Buckeyes and staying Buckeyes for the rest of our lives.”

Justin and Zach might not be the only Borens to carry on their family’s newfound tradition of playing for the Buckeyes. Their younger brother, Jacoby, is an offensive line prospect in his junior year at Pickerington North and was just offered a scholarship by OSU.

“I think there’s a real good chance,” Justin said, smiling, when asked if Jacoby would accept the Buckeyes’ offer. “I told him, ‘why would you want to go to any school other than Ohio State?’ In my mind, it’s the best school in the country.”