A lower back strain slowed Ben Braden through camp and in the early part of the season to the point that true freshman Ben Bredeson was splitting time with the fifth-year senior. Braden was back to full strength Saturday against Penn State – and he looked it.
Sophomore left tackle Grant Newsome graded out best of the linemen, but the others weren’t far behind. Braden could be seen laboring in his first game, a win over UCF, but he was clearly moving well on pulls Saturday and more physical than he has been.
He confirmed he feels better than he has in a long time.
“It’s going to continue to just get better,” Braden said. “Even over the weekend and today after treatment and everything, I’m feeling better than I did even at the end of last season. It makes me real excited because it’s always good to feel good. That’s not always a luxury [you get] in football.
“A lower back strain, especially as a lineman … your back is kind of important, key … if your back is not okay, it will affect other things. At the beginning of the season it was more precautionary, trying not to make it worse, a try to get it better looking at the rest of the season kind of thing. Beyond that, it was nothing serious … just wanted to protect it and make sure it didn’t get worse."
While he labored, so did the running game (at times) against both UCF and Colorado. Part of it was game plan, Braden said – plays designed to set up other plays, or teams stacking the box. But even his friends and family told him they expected more after games, asking why a veteran offensive line wasn’t dominating.
For Braden, simply bending over without pain was a chore.
“Anyone that’s ever had to play through an injury of any type … no one knows of their struggles," he said. "There are things you kind of feel limited on or the trainer is like, ‘yeah, you need to kind of keep working on this because it isn’t going to feel right in practice right away.’ At times it’s frustrating.
“Definitely the first couple games I was frustrated because I really wanted to be out there. At the same time, I knew I had to really focus in the training room and with the strength staff and getting my body back to getting healthy so I could keep playing. It was a struggle, but at the same time I'm happy I’m back and there’s a lot of season left to go.”
NOTES
• Both Braden and redshirt junior fullback Khalid Hill said they were looking forward to playing a physical team like Wisconsin. The Badgers are No. 8, U-M No. 5 heading into the game with U-M about a 10-point favorite.
“I’m really excited about it,” Braden said. “They’re a powerhouse, strong, big. I feel it’s going to be a great matchup, one of the most physical games we’ll play all year.
“They’ve always great people, they’re big and strong. I always enjoy the test, and we love the test as a team. Obviously, Coach [Jim] Harbaugh loves tests.”
• Michigan ran the same play repeatedly in the second quarter, and the guards – Braden and fifth-year senior Kyle Kalis – loved every second.
“Kalis and I definitely enjoyed the pulling,” Braden said with a laugh. “That was a lot of fun. He and I always live for that. Kalis is great at it. If you want to get somebody around to pull around someone, throw him around to hit somebody.
“I loved it. I haven’t had that much fun in a while … 300-plus yards is always awesome. There’s always a sense of satisfaction … you feel like, yeah we did our job because the backs are 10, 15 yards down the field or more.”