Bring him up after a game — any game, even a loss. Ask around — any Michigan football coach or player will have the same thing to say about Brandon Minor.

“The biggest thing he brings is a physical presence when he runs,” Rich Rodriguez said after last year’s 45-17 beatdown at Penn State, in which Minor was the lone bright spot, bruising his way to 117 yards.

“You can expect a real aggressive, physical game,” Minor said this offseason, when asked about his performance this year.

And after sitting out against Western Michigan with a slight ankle tweak, the senior running back’s 2009 debut lived up to his reputation.

“He was physical,” sophomore tight end Kevin Koger said. “He ran hard. It was good to have him back there.”

Well, there’s nothing new there.

On his second carry of the season, Minor showcased just why he might be one of the Big Ten’s most explosive ball carriers. He took the ball, found the hole and burst through it for a 22-yard gain.

It wasn’t a juke-heavy, SportsCenter-worthy run. But that’s never what Minor has been about. Instead, Minor —when healthy — has invoked visions of former NFL standout Eric Dickerson’s hard-nosed style, finding a hole and sprinting north-south toward the end zone.

If there happens to be a defender in the way, so be it. Minor is more likely to run through opponents than around them.

And Saturday against Notre Dame, Minor did just that, especially in the game-changing third quarter when he tallied 64 yards on his way to a 106-yard day.

“On offense, I couldn’t tell you exactly what they did,” said Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis, who calls all of his team’s offensive plays. “I was trying to get our offense straightened out. I know they were moving the ball some and had us reeling, especially on the inside run. When I would see something, it was usually an inside run, No. 4 (Minor’s jersey number) getting through right there.”

And while Weis was frustrated with Minor’s pounding running style, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta was scratching his head for a wholly different reason — Minor’s intense blocking abilities. Tenuta’s schemes are based around aggressive blitzes that are difficult for any quarterback to read, especially a freshman like Tate Forcier.

Tenuta has made a name for himself by confusing offensive lines and wreaking havoc on quarterbacks, but Minor continuously picked up blitzers, giving Forcier more time to make his downfield reads.

Several times during the game, Minor cut low on a linebacker or defensive back, flipping the player over his head. And even though blocking is a vastly underrated part of a running back’s duties, Minor did his part to keep Forcier’s uniform clean.

“Brandon just brings so much because he's so physical,” offensive coordinator Calvin Magee said, once again using the magic word to describe Minor. “You probably couldn't see with your naked eyes how much protection he was giving us on some of those passes. And he ran hard. And the guys kind of follow Brandon because he's a senior, he runs hard and he plays physical.”

Although the Michigan offense found success without Minor in the Wolverines’ 31-7 shellacking of Western Michigan, the senior is going to be an integral part of any success the team hopes to have this season.

Sophomore running back Mike Shaw knows just what Minor means to the Michigan offense — and somehow described the back’s leadership abilities without using the word “physical.”

“He came in and he took over the game,” Shaw said. “He controlled the ball, and that’s just the textbook way of a Michigan back, how to play. So I know now I have it right in front of me how I’m supposed to play.”