The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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22 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2023 BY JOHN BORTON T he moment wasn't too big for Ernest Hausmann. The young linebacker excelled before 110,192 in Michigan Stadium, roaming the field with strong instincts and fierce physicality. He racked up 10 tackles, including a sack, the QB takedown yanking the opposi- tion out of field goal range. The vast majority of that 110,192 didn't even cheer those efforts. That's because the sack featured U-M quar- terback J.J. McCarthy hitting the turf. Back then, Michigan's sophomore linebacker wore Nebraska's red and white. And while the standout 'Husk- ers freshman distinguished himself in The Big House that Nov. 12, 2022, after- noon, his team did not. It succumbed in humbled fashion, 34-3, just one more Big Ten foe getting run over by the train Jim Harbaugh has engineered over the past two-and-a-half seasons. Nebraska couldn't beat 'em, despite Hausmann's best efforts as a freshman. Several months later, Hausmann joined 'em, donning the maize and blue via the transfer portal. He has not looked back. "Winning does a lot of things to a team," Hausmann said of his pres- ent circumstance. "It's a confidence builder. You can go out there and put together a great game, all four quarters and all three phases of the game. Win- ning does a lot of things from a camara- derie standpoint, just the vibe building and the motivation for the week ahead. It's one of those things you can't really describe as a feeling. It's more than just a feeling." Hausmann remains on an upward arc throughout his 20 years on the planet. Born in Uganda, he moved from impov- erished circumstances when his par- ents, Olive and Paul, allowed Robert and Teresa Hausmann to adopt him at the age of 2. The process took until the child reached the age of 5, but upon becoming a Nebraskan, Hausmann thrived. His eventual decision to attend the University of Nebraska didn't stun any- one. The home state school featured a proud history, a loyal, enthusiastic fan base and a former 'Husker in Scott Frost running the show. Three games into Hausmann's fresh- man year, Frost wasn't running things anymore. Nebraska fired him after he stumbled to a 16-31 record in his four- plus seasons at the helm in Lincoln. Hausmann didn't enjoy an active say in his original, dramatic change of venue out of Africa. He did this time. Once again, he wound up in a land of incredible opportunity. COMING TO MICHIGAN First, there was a season to finish in Lincoln. "With the season still ahead of me at Nebraska, I knew [transferring] wasn't going to be in my mind," he said. "I needed to put my foot forward and keep getting better as a football player. From a team standpoint, I realized I finish what I start. I had a lot of time and op- portunity to develop as a player. It was crucial. I owed it to my teammates and to myself." He did apply himself, playing in all 12 Nebraska games with seven starts. He racked up 54 tackles, including 2 tack- les for loss, the sack at Michigan and a fumble recovery. Hausmann also wasn't sure he'd even wind up somewhere else. He really liked interim coach Mickey Joseph. But Joseph himself got booted from the Nebraska program after his arrest on a felony assault charge last December, related to a domestic dis- pute. Less than a week after Joseph's arrest, Nebraska hired Matt Rhule, for- mer Carolina Panthers coach, to guide the program. "When that new head coach choice was made, I did my research as to who that head coach was," Hausmann re- called. "I weighed out all my options and what I thought was going to be the best for my career moving forward. That ultimately led me to the decision to go into the portal." Michigan wasn't a stranger to the budding star. The Wolverines recruited him out of high school but lost out in the end to the home state school. Not surprisingly, the two-time reigning Big Ten champions came calling again. "When they reached out to me, it was like resuming the process," Hausmann EARNEST EARNEST EFFORT EFFORT Transfer Ernest Hausmann Is Thriving In A Highly Competitive Atmosphere Hausmann made an immediate impact this season. In the ver y first game of his Michigan career, the Nebraska linebackeer trans- fer posted a team-high 6 tackles in the season-opening rout of East Carolina, and he had 2 stops in the Big Ten opener versus Rutgers. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN