Things didn’t go well for Michigan on Saturday in a 29-6 loss to Michigan State, but adding insult to injury were the antics of Wolverines lineman Taylor Lewan.
ESPN’s cameras captured Lewan grabbing and twisting opposing defenders’ facemasks a few times during the game, leading to plenty of tough questions for the Wolverines captain on Monday.
First, Lewan’s lowlight reel:
Here’s what Lewan had to say about everything on Monday, via ESPN’s Chantel Jennings:
“It’s tough at times, definitely when you’re in a huge rivalry game like Michigan-Michigan State,” Lewan said. “A couple of those face-mask deals were on accident. ... A couple of those were very blatant and I apologize for that.
“There are different ways to go about it, but I lost my composure for a second. That’s not OK to do. That’s not representing the University of Michigan the way it should be. That’s not taking pride in the rivalry that we have with Michigan State.”
Coach Brady Hoke said he would’ve suspended Lewan for his action if he felt it was warranted, but the Big Ten still could issue a ban.
While Hoke defended some of the mask-pulling as Lewan trying to get Spartan defenders off quarterback Devin Gardner, some of his actions were nonetheless indefensible.
“It’s not what we want to portray or be,” Hoke said. “It’s not who we are.”