Ernest Hausmann got his first taste of college football last year, but it will be a bit different in his second year.
The linebacker transferred from Nebraska to Michigan football this offseason, touted among the best transfers available in the portal this offseason. And when he arrived in Ann Arbor, there was immediately one thing hammered home: it’s all about beating rival Ohio State.
Hausmann told Jon Jansen on the In The Trenches podcast that as soon as he got into the building, everyone let him know what the rivalry was about, and it has him that much more amped up to partake in it.
“I can’t wait. I just hear like, first thing when I came here at Michigan, you just don’t wear red,” Hausmann said. “And you have to get rid of all your red.”
Not wearing red would normally be an adjustment for Hausmann, considering that his former school has the moniker ‘big red’ and that’s the Huskers’ primary color. However, he’s all into the ‘go blue’ life now, and is fully embracing his new program.
As far as rivalries are concerned, Hausmann thinks he has some idea what’s in store, having played for Nebraska in the season finale against Iowa. However, given the height of The Game, perhaps he still isn’t quite understanding just how big it is for the Wolverines and Buckeyes.
“Yeah, all my stuff’s pretty much gone coming here to Michigan. I had ideas what a sense of that was,” Hausmann said. “But that was one of the things that’s first iterated was just don’t wear red. And so I took that to heart because I understand how rivalries are — Nebraska and Iowa have a big rivalry. And I saw how those two states kind of reacted.
“And then coming to (the rivalry) here is, but the Ohio State with us and Michigan, it’s just been awesome. Because that’s what I love about those rivalry games, because that’s a date you have (on) your calendar, and everything working towards that day to play that 60-minute game. And it has been awesome.”
Hausmann joins a Wolverines team that has won two-straight against the team from Columbus. OSU comes to Ann Arbor at the end of November hoping to break that streak, but given how much production Michigan returns, that will be easier said than done.
