ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The text message hit Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis' cell phone sometime after midnight on Nov. 13, only a couple of hours after Iowa upset the Wolverines 14-13 in Iowa City, a loss that put a serious dent in the their Big Ten title and College Football Playoff hopes.

The text message from Lewis' friend Tucker Vasher read: "Keep your head up. Tough times bring out the best! Shows you how tough you are. No matter what I love you, bro. Go Blue!"

Lewis, an All-America candidate and potential first-round pick in next spring's NFL draft, knows that few people are as tough or inspirational as Tucker and his twin brother, Tyler. The 22-year-old Michigan fans were born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder that is commonly known as brittle bone disease and which requires them to use wheelchairs for their entire lives.

It is inspiration that Lewis will carry into Saturday's game at No. 2 Ohio State (noon ET, ABC/ESPN App), which might decide whether the Buckeyes or No. 3 Wolverines remain in the playoff hunt.

"Just the way they live their lives is amazing," Lewis said. "They don't fear anything. When I think of them, I realize that I'm not really going through too much, and I can come back from anything. Even with everything they're dealing with, they're still enjoying their lives. They're optimistic no matter what."

Michigan defensive back Jourdan Lewis became fast friends with the Vasher twins (seen here with Tucker), both of whom are big Wolverines fans. Vasher family

Between them, the Vasher twins have broken 75 to 100 bones, according to their mother, Lisa Vasher, of Harrison, Michigan.

"They were born with broken bones," she said. "They had to take the boys out by C-section so they wouldn't break anything else."

About 20 weeks into her pregnancy in 1994, doctors told Lisa and her husband Jeff that something was wrong with their unborn twins. When doctors completed an ultrasound, they discovered their babies' femurs were irregularly short and curved. Doctors feared the boys suffered from brittle bone disease.

"They didn't expect the boys to survive," Lisa said.

According to statistics from the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Foundation, there are a minimum of 20,000 people and maybe as many as 50,000 living with brittle bone disease in the U.S. It's much rarer for twins to both have the condition. Lisa Vasher said she has met only two other sets of twins who have osteogenesis imperfecta.

Despite their struggles, Tucker and Tyler have never allowed their condition to prevent them from doing what other people do. When they were younger, they sometimes attended school wearing full-body casts. A nurse was assigned to keep watch over them at school, and their friends made sure other students didn't bump into their wheelchairs. Their bones are that fragile.

Each of the Vasher twins has titanium rods in both their shins and their hips to keep them straight and strong. Tucker also has rods in both forearms and biceps; Tyler has a rod in his left bicep. The titanium, TV antenna-like rods in their shins expand as their bones grow.

Tucker and Tyler know they can break a bone at any minute, regardless of the precautions they might take. Tucker broke a rib while sneezing and broke his arm while picking up a small Diet Coke at McDonald's. When they were younger, their parents wouldn't allow them to watch horror movies because they feared the boys would break a bone if they were startled.

A couple of years ago, Tucker broke his arm while fishing in the lake behind his family's home in the upper peninsula of Michigan. He was using light tackle, only a bobber and worm, but when he opened the bale and flicked a line into the water, his arm snapped in half.

"Fishing was the one thing you couldn't take away from me," Tucker said. "It was the one thing I was allowed to do. Right there, my fishing career was over. I could never fish again."

That summer, Tucker broke his arm four times in three weeks. When doctors repaired his left arm, they rolled him over on the operating table and accidentally broke his right arm. Another time, Tucker fell out of his wheelchair and into an old fire pit. He broke both legs and arms and had to spend a couple of months in bed.

"There are a lot of cases that are worse than us," Tyler said. "There are some kids that have to lay in bed up against a pillow all day. Believe it or not, we're pretty fortunate."

Thank you @JourdanJD for always being there for me. During my good & bad times, you're always supporting me. Just an appreciation post. 😊 pic.twitter.com/FiSsCnJAFX — Tucker Vasher (@tuckervasher) October 26, 2016

The Vasher brothers spend a lot of their time on social media and playing video games. Tucker is very active on Twitter -- he has tweeted more than 38,000 times and has more than 4,000 followers. Tyler is a little less active but still has tweeted more than 16,000 times to his more than 1,400 followers. Neither one is shy about sending messages to professional athletes and other famous people.

The brothers have had online interactions with Los Angeles Angels star Albert Pujols, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, former Lions running back Barry Sanders and Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones. Angels All-Star outfielder and AL MVP Mike Trout even sent them an autographed bat.

A couple of years ago, Detroit Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh invited the Vasher twins to watch a game from his luxury suite. Detroit Tigers All-Star pitcher Justin Verlander gave them on-field passes to a game against the Angels, and they were able to meet Verlander and Trout.

"Tucker is amazing," Lisa said. "Tucker is Mr. Social Media and is all about it. They've been through so much. When I see them happy and doing what they love, it makes me happy."

Few things make the Vasher twins happier than watching Michigan's football team play. Their uncle, Jim Vasher, was a Michigan season-ticket holder and took the brothers to a few games in the past. Jim, a military veteran, wore the same clothes to every game -- khaki pants and a Michigan shirt. He started the routine long before Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh made the conservative attire famous.

About a year ago, Tucker started an online conversation with Lewis, one of his favorite Michigan players.

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"We started talking to each other on Twitter, and I asked him what he liked to do when he wasn't playing football," Tucker said. "He said he liked to play video games, and we started playing Xbox."

Eventually, Tucker and Tyler started playing online Xbox with Lewis and his teammates, including tailback De'Veon Smith, defensive end Taco Charlton and safety Delano Hill. The Vasher twins forged a friendship with the Michigan players by playing games like "Call of Duty," "Madden NFL 17" and "NBA 2K," while chatting online with them for hours.

"We just had conversations with them while we were playing the games," Lewis said. "They were Michigan fans and seemed like really good guys."

After Tucker had surgery at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor this past spring, Lewis and his girlfriend visited him while he was recovering. Tucker invited Lewis to visit his home in Harrison, which is about 160 miles northwest of Michigan's campus.

The Vasher brothers will be watching as Lewis and the Wolverines play Ohio State on Saturday. Photo by Lon Horwedel/Icon Sportswire

On April 23, Tyler and two of his friends drove to Ann Arbor to pick up Lewis. A native of Detroit, Lewis didn't know what to expect. Harrison has about 2,100 residents and only two stoplights. There's a seasonal Dairy Queen and not much else. There isn't a lot to do besides hunting and fishing. Harrison's schools are even closed on the opening day of deer season each fall.

When Lewis arrived in Harrison, the first thing the Vasher twins asked him to do was dunk a basketball. They had never seen anyone do it in person. Then they spent the rest of the day playing video games and doing other things, like hitting golf balls over the lake with a baseball bat and shooting pellet guns.

"It was probably one of the best times I've ever had," Lewis said. "They're some of the kindest people I've ever met. They welcomed me into their home and didn't even know me. They're just really great people. I'm so glad I met them."

Sometime Saturday morning, Tucker will send Lewis another text message of encouragement. It's a message Lewis won't take for granted.

"What I bring from my life to his is to always be appreciative," Tucker said. "With all of my tragedies, I try to bring out all the positives. I love my life. I couldn't be more thankful. Anything can happen in one second to where your life is changed. That's what I tell Jourdan."