On Thursday morning, Michigan football players and coaches spoke about how the program has added beef to its roster in recent years and said it will help this time against Alabama.
On Thursday evening, the No. 1 ranked Wolverines added some more beef, when they participated in one of the Rose Bowl’s oldest traditions, the Beef Bowl at Lawry’s Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, which has been held for the bowl game every season except 1957.
The tradition of Lawry’s The Beef Bowl, been here twice as a player when I came here to enjoy this excellence,” said coach Jim Harbaugh. “We respect tradition, we admire excellence and that’s what Lawry’s is.
“Playing in the Rose Bowl is second to none, just like Lawry’s is second to none.
Senior captain and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins was named the honorary salad spinner even though he said he’s “absolutely not” a salad guy; senior captain and left guard Trevor Keegan served as the honorary carver, a job he said was easier than he expected; and senior captain right guard Zak Zinter, who was injured in the regular-season finale against Ohio State, was presented with the Rose Bowl Scholar Athlete Award.
My parents instilled that in me as a young kid, working hard in the classroom and on the field,” Zinter said of his work ethic. “You know I wanted to get a good degree, and football’s got to end sometime.”
The unanimous All-American and three-time academic All-Big Ten honoree was reminded off that sobering fact when he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the third quarter during Michigan’s 30-24 victory on Nov. 25.