The Wolverine

November 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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NOVEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 69 BY JOHN BORTON R ueben Riley loved the winged helmet at age 17, enough to ig- nore the 50-50 Michigan-Michigan State fan split in his native Grand Rapids. At 35, he appreciates that symbol so much more. Riley now serves as the student life coordinator at Grand Rapids Chris- tian Middle School, and the offensive line coach and assistant head coach for GRC's varsity football team. The lessons he learned in his Michigan career (2002-06) direct much of what he does. He gravitated toward Michigan be- cause of the colors and the tradition. Riley quickly learned, though, that building a strong tradition isn't easy. "It's that humbleness you get slapped with," the burly offensive lineman recalled. "You go through high school and you're All-Every- thing, and now it's another level of football. Not everybody makes this transition. Do you have what it takes? Do you have the intestinal fortitude and the work ethic to make it happen?" Riley might have harbored mo- mentary second thoughts the first time he tried to block All-Big Ten linebacker Victor Hobson in practice. Riley outweighed Hobson by a good 60 pounds, and was used to "blow- ing up" whatever he hit at the high school level. "So we have a counter play, and I'm going kick out Victor Hobson," Riley recalled. "He stood me straight in the air and made the tackle on the ball carrier. I was like, 'Oh, wow!' "He stuck his inside shoulder right in my chest, stood me up and made the tackle. I was like, 'Uh-oh. This is going to require me digging in a little more and figuring this thing out.'" He figured out technique matters, and plenty more while redshirting as a true freshman. When the 2003 season rolled around, he stood much more ready for battle. Riley played a key backup role behind U-M's starting tackles that second season, soaking up the glow from his team's 35-21 win in the 100th meeting between Michigan and Ohio State. "We were able to run the ball very effectively that game," Riley recalled. "I remember our offensive line just working extremely cohesively, led by Dave Baas, Steno [Adam Stenavich], [Tony] Pape and Matt Lentz. [Run- ning back] Chris Perry had a great game, [wideout] Braylon Edwards had a great game." Riley sported a great Big Ten cham- pionship ring following that triumph, but wanted more. He'd become ver- satile enough to play any position up front — Michigan's "handyman" — but found his opening early in 2004 via injury. "The vacancy was at left guard, be- cause Baas moved inside to center," Riley noted. "I remember Leo Henige getting the starting role, and I was still doing the handyman thing. Then Leo got hurt, and they moved me in to left guard. "That's when Mike Hart emerges, that's when Chad Henne emerges, Braylon has the Biletnikoff-type year. We just really got rolling. Mike Hart had several consecutive 200-yard games when I got into the lineup, and we jelled as an offensive line. "That was the breakout for me, and that was fun." It didn't feel all that fun when the Wolverines fell behind Michigan State 27-10 with only 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. All appeared lost inside Michigan Stadium. Then it all changed, in one of the most dramatic closing scenes ever inside The Big House. "I remember Michigan State's of- fensive having a lot of success, un- til LaMarr Woodley tackled their quarterback, Drew Stanton," Riley recalled. "Stanton fell on his shoulder weird, and he was out of the game. That was the key moment for me in that game — a game changer. "When Chad and Braylon started to connect, it didn't really mat- ter who was covering Braylon — Cover 2, man or whatever. When that started to take effect, our morale and confidence got to going. We said, you know what, if we give Chad time, he's going to find Braylon, and Bray- lon is not going to let somebody out- jump him for the ball." Henne found Edwards over and over in Michigan's rally for a 45-37 overtime win. The Wolverines gave their fans an- other unbelievable thriller in the Rose Bowl — but the storybook ending only applies if the storybook resides in the University of Texas library. The Longhorns survived a 38-37 shootout, winning on a last-second field goal following an other-worldly Riley was a three-year starter on the offensive line and helped the Wolverines win a pair of Big Ten championships from 2002-06. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN   WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Rueben Riley Found His Way To Michigan Manhood

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