Devin Gardner committed to Michigan no matter how Forcier, Robinson fare
Blue-chip quarterback recruit Devin Gardner opens the season tonight against Ann Arbor Pioneer and his future teammate and receiving target Ricardo Miller as part of the Big Day Prep Showdown at Eastern Michigan.
I talked with Gardner a few weeks ago, and he said Michigan fans don’t have to worry about his commitment no matter how freshmen quarterbacks Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson perform this year.
“I’m going to have to compete regardless,” Gardner said. “If he does well that just makes for more competition.”
Competition didn’t seem to bother Gardner at the Elite 11 quarterback camp earlier this summer. He won best feet at the camp and roundly drew praise for his play on the same stage with some of the nation’s other top signal callers.
Among the Elite 11 highlights, Gardner said he got a chance to work with Penn State quarterback Darryl Clark and NFL quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Chase Daniel. Palmer talked with him about the rigors of the NFL, while Clark and Daniel worked on the nuances of the spread offense and being a dual-threat quarterback.
“I like the competition,” Gardner said. “If you go to a Nike camp or something else, another camp, there’s some guys who aren’t that good so you don’t test your skills. There, everybody’s good. Even the mistakes people made, they’re still the top quarterbacks in the country so there’s no slacking out there. I think I did pretty good.”
As for today’s game, Gardner, said he’s looking forward to seeing Miller, even if it’s as an enemy for one day.
“We’re cool,” he said. “We can’t be friends right now though until after the game. After we play them we’re going to be all right.”
A few other notes on Michigan recruits from the start of the high school season:
• Texas running back Stephen Hopkins had 13 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns in Flower Mound Marcus' 62-28 blowout of Grapevine.
• Livonia Stevenson running back Austin White had just 64 yards on 14 carries in a 21-7 loss to Livonia Franklin.
• The other quarterback in Michigan's class, Spartanburg's (S.C.) Cornelius Jones, saw his game postponed by rain Friday. In a season-opening loss last week, Jones completed just 7-of-24 passes for 42 yards.
• Ann Arbor Huron receiver Jeremy Jackson also is in action today at the Big Day Prep Showdown. Join my colleagues Rich Rezler and James Briggs for a live chat on all the day's games at AnnArbor.com.
Comments
TheCool
Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 9:58 p.m.
A football game was postponed by rain? What is this baseball?
tater
Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 6:57 p.m.
sgb wrote: "Devin is a horse and confident since most people know Tate will move on once Denard beats him out." Neither you nor anyone else "knows" any such thing. I don't see DRob beating Forcier out of anything this season. If anything, I see RR finding a way to get both of them the ball: Forcier 60-70 percent and DRob 30-40 percent. But, your guess is as good as mine. The difference is that I don't try to say I "know" what I am just guessing. Since, in your myriad identies, your predictions for UM usually involve negative outcomes, and I, in my eternal fandom and optimism, usually predict positive outcomes for UM, I guess we will just have to wait until the season unfolds to see who is right.
Salinegoblue
Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 4:16 p.m.
Devin is a horse and confident since most people know Tate will move on once Denard beats him out. That will open the door for Devin to come in as nuber 2 and puts him in a position to play if Denard stumbles or gets hurt. We're going to be so loaded at QB, although I'm not a RR fan he's bringing in some talent. Now lets see what he does with the talent.
azwolverine
Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 4:09 p.m.
I like Gardner's attitude. He knows if he wants to be the best, he's got to compete against the best. I hope he truly does stay true to his commitment and come here, because he sounds like the real deal. As for tonight's game, though, I've got to go for my HS alma mater and pull for Miller and Pi Hi to pull it out.
jimtrashel
Sat, Aug 29, 2009 : 1:30 p.m.
Sooooo much talent. Michigan and the Lions should just switch leagues. It's borderline unfair what RR is going to do to the competition.