Kornacki: Bredeson Has Come a Long Way to Lead Michigan into Columbus
11/23/2018 10:04:00 AM | Football, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- When a big play breaks for the Wolverines, watch the replay and look for No. 74. You'll usually find guard Ben Bredeson, a 20-year-old junior and team captain, pancaking his man or carrying out a combo block with his partner on the left side of the offensive line, tackle Jon Runyan.
When asked about Bredeson's contributions on the field and in terms of leadership, University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said, "He's been great at both. Ben's been an outstanding player for us on the field, and he's been a tremendous leader for us. He consistently plays at a very high level, and the leadership is consistently there daily.
"He's one of my favorite players on the team, Ben Bredeson."
Bredeson was an All-Big Ten Conference second team pick as a sophomore in 2017 and was named to the Associated Press Midseason All-America team this year. He's been selected by Wolverines coaches as the offensive lineman of the week four times -- against Western Michigan, Northwestern, Michigan State and Indiana -- as well as the offensive player of the game against WMU.
Last week the hulking blocker from Hartland (Wisconsin) Arrowhead High took a photo from this season and one from his first team eight years ago and sent them to his father, Michael.
"I still have a picture of myself from my Lake Country Chiefs days in seventh grade," said Bredeson, "and I sent it over to my dad the night before the (Indiana) game. He was my coach, and I sent him that photo of me back then, looking like a little baby in my stance, and of me in my stance against Penn State.
"They looked identical except for the size differential (going from 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds to his current 6-5 and 320). I texted them and said, 'We've come a long ways the last few years.'
"I was a tackle from seventh grade through high school. I came to Michigan, played tackle for two weeks, and moved inside to guard and have been there ever since. So, this is where I'm supposed to be."
Bredeson is six inches taller and twice as heavy now compared to his 7th grade days in Wisconsin.
Bredeson has risen to the top along with his team.
No. 4 Michigan (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten) heads to Columbus, Ohio, Saturday (Nov. 24) for a game with No. 10 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1) that sends the winner to the Big Ten Championship Game Dec. 1 with Northwestern, and then perhaps to the College Football Playoff.
"The Game" is for all the marbles again.
"It's a unique rivalry, and I think it's the most special one in all sports," said Bredeson. "It's something I wasn't really a part of growing up. I didn't follow Ohio State and Michigan that much. But being a part of it in college, it's something very special.
"Both teams have a respect for each other, but there's definitely no love lost. ... It was during warmups my freshman year when we went down to Columbus, and everybody's booing you and you figure out what this whole thing's all about. I loved it from the get-go; I love this rivalry. I absolutely despise that school. So, it's going to be a good one going in Saturday."
He chose the Wolverines over the Wisconsin team he rooted for as a boy and Notre Dame. A consensus four-star recruit and first team USA Today All-American, Bredeson was a pivotal recruit for Harbaugh. He was able to start midway through his freshman season and develop into the kind of player and leader Michigan required for a much-needed upgrade in its offensive line play.
When Harbaugh's compliments in regard to his performance and leadership were relayed, Bredeson said, "I learned a lot from Mason Cole (now the starting center of the Arizona Cardinals) last year on how to lead the offensive line. That's something I learned, to take care of the position group first. And we've got a lot of (experienced) guys in there with Runyan, Juwann (Bushell-Beatty) and a lot of guys on the line who can take leadership roles. So, I think we do a great job of holding each other accountable, and that's just something I try to do with our group.
"If someone messes up, we all mess up. A sack is a sack -- it doesn't matter who gives it up. We take that mindset into everything, and it's working well for us."
Bredeson and the Michigan offensive line relished helping Higdon (22) to seven consecutive 100-yard rushing games this season.The Wolverines are tied for the Big Ten lead with fewest sacks allowed in conference games (1.13 per game) and in scoring (36.5 points) as well as being No. 1 in third-down success (.513).
Bredeson points to the arrival this season of accomplished offensive line coach Ed Warinner, who recently coached that position group and served as offensive coordinator of the Buckeyes.
"He forced us to be good," said Bredeson, "and he did an outstanding job of it.
"Going back to square one has helped, and he's helped us all a lot. We've been able to just start over and build ourselves back up the way he wants it, and to know exactly what he's asking for with each assignment. Now that we know exactly what we're supposed to be doing, we do that at a high level.
"Last year, being the weak point of the team, and being at an absolute low with nobody outside of this team believing in us, we took that one step further and put it in our room that we weren't going to let this happen. When we were at the low point like that, I think it really was a crucible and brought everyone together."
Bredeson said their technique improved along with their strength. But so did the trust they had in one another.
"We're such a tight-knit family," he said. "Everybody really is playing for the person next to him. It's a unique thing, and I've never seen anything quite like it. It's awesome to be a part of, and on Saturdays there's no place we'd rather be."
Bredeson said he made the biggest improvement in his knowledge of the game and "being able to help (center) Cesar (Ruiz) make calls" before plays.
Striving for more has been the key.
"We look at the stats up there on the scoreboard in the middle of the game and say, 'Damn, 220 yards rushing, seven minutes left. We can get 300.'"
They surpassed 300 yards against Western Michigan and Wisconsin and got 183 against a Michigan State defense that led the nation in run defense with an average that was one-third of that.
"We made sure Karan (Higdon) was getting 100 yards during his (seven-game) streak," added Bredeson. "We loved that streak by him.
"But we take the most pride in wins. That's all we really care about. If Karan gets 70 and we win, we're happy. We're pushing for wins and championships."
Bredeson (far left) and the Wolverines celebrate the 21-7 victory at Michigan State.
Bredeson said his favorite moment this year came in claiming the Paul Bunyan Trophy after beating MSU, 21-7, "and celebrating after a really dominating win in East Lansing." He said the "love" the team shared with Harbaugh after that game was very special.
Still, there's room for improvement. Bredeson said the O-line needs to "communicate a little better at times" and "execute our run fits better at times" while improving the red-zone touchdown scoring from last week's 31-20 win over Indiana.
Bredeson wanted to change "the narrative" about his unit going into this season, and he has succeeded along with Runyan, Cesar Ruiz, Juwann Bushell-Beatty and right guard Michael Onwenu. Sophomore Andrew Stueber also has played well recently when Bushell-Beatty was injured.
Winning, as Bredeson said, is the greatest reward for the O-line. But if he continues playing as well as he has, Bredeson also has a shot to become Michigan's first offensive guard All-American since Steve Hutchinson in 1999 and 2000.
Strong offensive lines and winning go hand in hand, and Bredeson is having a big hand in both for the Wolverines.
