Four Michigan Wolverines earned Big Ten Network All-Decade honors this week, including former middle linebacker Devin Bush, former tight end Jake Butt, former viper linebacker Jabrill Peppers and former left tackle Taylor Lewan.
Lewan was a first-team All-American and the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year each of his final two seasons in Ann Arbor (2012 and 2013). He went on to be a first-round pick to the Tennessee Titans in the 2014 NFL Draft, where he's enjoyed plenty of success as a three-time Pro Bowl selection.
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Lewan, who also hosts his own podcast, "Bussin' With The Boys" with fellow NFL player Will Compton, joined Big Ten Network's Rick Pizzo for an interview to discuss being named All-Decade.
He was honored to be recognized as one of the conference's best of the last decade, especially coming from Michigan.
"The University of Michigan has so much rich history, so many players that played before and have done so much more than I even have," Lewan said.
Outside of the 2011 season that saw the Wolverines beat Ohio State and win the Sugar Bowl, Michigan faced much adversity during Lewan's seasons in the winged helmet.
"When I look back at my career, there’s been so many ups and so many downs and unfortunately, when I was at the University of Michigan, it was that growing period," he said. "It was the Rich Rodriguez and the Brady Hoke era. And, I think we didn’t succeed the way the Michigan faithful fans wanted us to. I wish so much that we could go back and retry and see how that went."
Even still, he had some great experiences, such as the thrilling win over Notre Dame in the first night game ever at the Big House in 2011, something he'll never forget.
"When I think about the cool things that I got to experience when I was at Michigan, other than the school and everything, just looking at the football games … Just playing in the first night game at the University of Michigan against Notre Dame was one of the coolest experiences ever because before then, Michigan didn’t even have lights at their stadium. It was old school. It was like, you’re playing at noon, you’re playing at 3:30, that’s kind of the gig. For them to adapt, to grab lights and for us to play another historic program, a top-three rivalry for the University of Michigan.
"To come back the way we did, with Denard Robinson throwing that pass to Roy Roundtree, it was unbelievable. To be a part of that stuff, man, I still watch YouTube videos of the hype, all that, the last two minutes and 45 seconds of that game. I just see 77 at left tackle, but watching Denard Robinson, “Shoelace,” the guy that was on the cover of NCAA when that was the thing, my quarterback, the nicest guy in the entire world, the face of the university during those years … throwing it to Roy Roundtree — who’s doing an amazing job of coaching — and picked that off in the corner of the end zone, it’s just unbelievable. It’s such a cool experience. It’s something I’ll never forget. The uniforms, everything, it was just a great game."
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