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Taylor Lewan returns to Michigan, brushes aside complicated public persona

ANN ARBOR -- Taylor Lewan leaned over a fence, draping his familiar tattooed arm across a fan and smiling for a picture. More fans lined up. He signed autographs for each, hunching over for the youngest kids.

It was a scene cut from a chapter of Lewan's hero and villain public persona.

For years, Lewan was a star offensive tackle at Michigan, serving as the face of the program and de facto team spokesman. His decision to spurn the 2013 NFL draft after his junior year was celebrated and, given the up-and-down state of the U-M program, bordered on altruism.