Birk's Eye View: Does Denard Robinson belong at quarterback, running back or receiver?

For now, the answer is quarterback. Robinson and starter Tate Forcier are the only Wolverines capable of running Rodriguez’s spread offense anywhere near its full potential. Forcier turned Michigan Stadium into a morgue Saturday when he was face down on the turf for a few moments, writhing in pain, with bruised ribs.

Forcier left the game briefly, returned a series later and should be available for this week’s Big Ten opener against Indiana. Robinson ran for a touchdown in his absence and another one a quarter later, further dazzling fans with his amazing athletic ability.

Assuming Michigan continues to recruit more system-friendly quarterbacks, Rodriguez has to consider moving Robinson to running back or receiver, where his skills won’t be wasted sitting on the sidelines most of the game.

On three carries Saturday, Robinson ran for 60 yards and two touchdowns. He’s averaging 8.6 yards on 18 electric carries this year.

In the passing game, Robinson has been erratic. He threw two interceptions in four attempts Saturday, all incompletions, and has a minus-6.1 efficiency rating for the season.

Rodriguez said Robinson’s struggles are partly a product of wanting to prove he’s a quarterback, something Robinson flatly denies.

“I’m not trying to prove to nobody,” Robinson said. “Just proving to myself.”

Still, the fact remains that Forcier has shown a proficiency under center few would expect from a true freshman, Robinson is one of the most explosive athletes in the Big Ten, and Rodriguez is creative enough to use both in the backfield - routinely - at the same time.

By this time next year, I suspect that might happen.

Positives, negatives and leftovers You don’t need me to tell you how good Carlos Brown was or how bad the defense played early, but here’s a few observations of note from Week 3.

The good • After a sloppy first two games, Michigan’s offensive line had one penalty Saturday, a false start by guard Steve Schilling in the third quarter. It was the first time this year the Wolverines did not get called for holding.

• Regardless of Brandon Minor’s health, Michigan is deep enough at running back to stick with the by-committee approach for the foreseeable future. Speedy Michael Shaw (nine carries, 53 yards) was a nice compliment to Brown (a career-best 187 yards) Saturday, and even Mike Cox broke off a nice 24-yard run. “Sometimes a coach wants to have one guy get greased up and have a lot of carries,” Rodriguez said. “But we do so many things probably at a faster tempo, the more backs we can have ready to go, the better off we’re going to be.”

The bad • Jason Olesnavage tightened his grip on the kicking job with a flawless Saturday, making his only field-goal try and connecting on all six extra points. Bryan Wright was less productive kicking off. He had one touchback in eight attempts, and shanked one ball badly out of bounds.

• Kevin Leach was credited with 10 tackles, but seven were assists and I’m not sure he’s fast enough to be a regular contributor once Big Ten play begins. Michigan will be glad to have Jonas Mouton back next week.

• Gutsy call by EMU coach Ron English to go for the fourth-and-one early. Mike Martin was out of the game for that play, but Renaldo Sagesse and the rest of Michigan’s defensive front got blown off the ball for a 22-yard gain. Sagesse, to his credit, did flash on a few plays later in the game.

The extras • Besides quarterbacks Robinson and Forcier and defensive end Craig Roh, three true freshmen played an offensive or defensive snap Saturday: Defensive tackle William Campbell, running back Vincent Smith and cornerback Teric Jones. Safety Vlad Emilien and linebacker Brandin Hawthorne also played on special teams for the third straight game.

Receiver Je’Ron Stokes, who played the first two weeks, was not listed on Saturday’s participation report. Stokes wasn’t listed on last week’s injury report, either, but it’s not too late to come up with some nagging ailment so Stokes can redshirt this year.

Barring injury, you can expect the rest of Michigan’s 2009 recruiting class to redshirt as well, including cornerback J.T. Turner, who’s out with the NCAA Clearinghouse left him too far behind in the playbook to contribute.

Five of the eight true freshmen in the playing group - all but Roh, Robinson and Jones - were early enrollees.

• Rodriguez was hopeful guard David Moosman would be ready for this week’s game against Indiana, but offensive line coach Greg Frey didn’t sound so sure. Asked if Moosman was close to playing against EMU, Frey said, “Nah. I don’t know how close he is, but I’m hoping real close. I’m hoping Schmitty (trainer Paul Schmidt) does some good things.”

• Rodriguez on the injuries and the win in general: “I think we took some positive steps today, I also think we took some steps that maybe weren’t so positive. But it’s a good win and again we got to overcome these injuries. I’ve said it many times, 12 straight games with no open dates, we knew coming in that injuries could play a factor and they’re going to. Our next guy will pick it up and go from there.”

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.