Question finally fades as Denard Robinson assumes control of Michigan football team
Michigan sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson smiles as he scores in the first half against Connecticut last week. The next test for Robinson: Notre Dame at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
A dozen or so reporters form a half-moon around Denard Robinson.
It’s early August, and the sophomore stands at the forefront of the Michigan football team’s three-way quarterback race.
He’s peppered with questions ranging from the expected - evaluating his competitors - to the obscure - the date of his last haircut. Fifteen queries into the interview session, it finally surfaces.
The question that has followed him since the time he first put on his cleats at Deerfield Beach (Fla.) High School, and seemingly boarded a plane along with Robinson and followed him to Ann Arbor.
It’s both harmless and annoying. Robinson usually answers it with a shrug and polite sentence, but without fail, it’s asked in some variation every time he gathers with reporters.
On this day, it takes the form of this: “Denard, have coaches asked you about playing another position, and, if so, would you be willing to do that?”
Weeks later, Robinson emerged with Michigan’s starting quarterback job. In his first college start, he accumulated 383 total yards against a befuddled UConn defense, set the team’s single-game rushing record and won national player of the week honors.
Amid the postgame press conference and celebration that followed, the unwanted tagalong was nowhere to be found.
“The kid is a quarterback, my God,” said Art Taylor, Robinson’s high school coach at Deerfield Beach. “I hope he doesn’t hear those questions again.”
Single-minded focus
Reporters weren’t the only ones asking Robinson preference for playing quarterback.
At 6-foot, 190 pounds, he’s got the size to play cornerback or running back or wide receiver. With 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash, he possessed the natural speed to succeed at any of them.
College scouts projected him to play those positions.
Although he succeeded at Deerfield Beach rolling out of the pocket and leading the offense at quarterback, throwing for 1,872 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior, the majority of schools recruiting Robinson wanted him to play elsewhere.
Rivals.com, the nationwide recruiting website, ranked him as the eighth-best athlete in his class and the 16th-best cornerback available in 2008.
At the outset of the recruiting process, Taylor asked scouts and recruiters to be up front about what position they wanted Robinson to play.
“Denard was saying, ‘I want to play quarterback. I want to play quarterback. I want to play quarterback,’” Taylor said. “Don’t get him on campus somewhere and then try to change him.”
Rich Rodriguez listened.
Asked Saturday when Robinson asserted himself, in the context of the recent Michigan quarterback race, Rodriguez laughed. “When we recruited him,” he said.
Fine-tuning his passing skills
Last Saturday, Taylor sat in a recliner in his living room, hooting and hollering every time his protégé burst through the line of scrimmage and haunted the Huskies defense.
By the time he finished, Robinson had completed 19 of 22 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown and run for 197 yards on a whopping 29 carries.
“If he can carry it 29 times for 200 yards, he’ll carry it 29 times again,” Rodriguez laughed. “I don’t know if he’ll be able to do that each and every game. … That’s a little more than we had planned.”
Funny thing is, Robinson intended to run the ball less than ever.
“I was just always thinking run,” he said of his mixed-bag 2009 season. “I just rushed myself a lot. I rushed everything a lot. When you rush, you’re not thinking like you’re supposed to. That really hurt me last year, really hurt.”
He spent the off-season learning the intricacies of the Michigan offense and devouring footage of opposing defenses.
By the time the spring game arrived, his knowledge base had evened with classmate Tate Forcier, who arrived on campus as an early enrollee six months earlier than Robinson.
Robinson impressed his coaches throughout the summer with his nuanced knowledge of the offense. When he was finally uncaged against UConn, he looked the like the conductor of an orchestra.
Only his coaches noticed the subtleties that needed fine-tuning.
But everybody in the record-breaking crowd of 113,090 noticed the wide smile across No. 16’s face. His teammates noticed it in the huddle too, and at one point, he talked so fast, they had to ask him to repeat himself.
No doubt, Robinson was having fun out there.
“You can always see that,” Taylor said. “It’s just like he’s playing in a pick-up game in your backyard. He smiles, but he’s got that lockdown focus. He’s so aware of absolutely everything going on in a game.”
It’s a trait that became apparent to teammates throughout training camp. They saw his running ability last year. They saw his passing game develop this spring.
The leadership Robinson provides clinched it for coaches. Robinson was the guy. His performance against UConn clinched it for everybody else.
As running back Michael Shaw said two days after the season-opening win, “As of September 4, it is Denard’s show.”
Pete Bigelow can be reached at (734) 623-2556, via email at petebigelow@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @PeterCBigelow.
Comments
peg dash fab
Tue, Sep 14, 2010 : 1:55 p.m.
waiting for 15crown00 to slink back in and teach us about humility, now that we've been schooled in arrogance.
Kris
Sat, Sep 11, 2010 : 8:41 p.m.
It was the kind of performance Michigan fans probably expected to see when the school hired Rodriguez away from West Virginia, where the dual threat Pat White routinely put big points in his high-flying offenses. Denard Robinson http://usspost.com/denard-robinson-17062/
peg dash fab
Sat, Sep 11, 2010 : 10:02 a.m.
we'll all be looking for your follow-up remarks later today!
15crown00
Fri, Sep 10, 2010 : 11:54 a.m.
WE'LL JUST SEE FOR HOW long this fairy tail lasts Never did i think i would say this but i hope Notre Dame ROCKS all of you slappies and your wonderful Wolverines. Suppose D ROB will run the ball 25x and complete 19/22?Do not think so As for Rod Rich he'll be one game closer to being fired. Take that Arrogant Ones.
David Barker
Fri, Sep 10, 2010 : 10:12 a.m.
Go DR, go Big Blue, thanks RR. RR is the best thing to have happened to UM and I mean that sincerely. We were stagnant, whinny and had a feeling of superiority and entitlement. The last two years have been "bloody" and we haved reeled like a 'punch drunk club fighter'. However, RR has not backed down, he has stayed in the trenches and taught us to fight in the crouch, get in close, bob & weave and hammer the body. In other words fight the good fight and we all will be better for it. I am not talking about the football players but you and me, the fans. Maybe, just maybe, we will all be thankful and appreciate more our return to the top......because thats exactly where we are headed. There is something special happening in UM football and we will all be the better for it.
tzgoblue
Thu, Sep 9, 2010 : 1:14 p.m.
All players have good days and bad days. Without a doubt there will some bad days in the future for DR, but I'll bet his good days far out number his bad days based on what I saw in the spring and the show he put on last Saturday. I'm sure the usual negative comments will flow like water when DR has his first bad outing. I've come to expect these idiots normal comments since RR arrived in A2. True Mich fans that understand the game and the process will not jump off the wagon when DR has an off day.
lumberg48108
Thu, Sep 9, 2010 : 10:09 a.m.
Dont you mean he is taking control of the offense? I hardly think he is taking control of the defense. In football, more than any other team sport, the two sides are kept at a distance...after one game the headline tells us he is in control of the entire team? And will the luster wear off when he throws 3 picks in a game and the U-M gets rolled?
michboy40
Thu, Sep 9, 2010 : 9:01 a.m.
If D Rob continues to work and improve, this job may not be Devin G's as I originally thought. Devin Gardner is going to have to work to pass up D Rob. Unfortunatly, I think Devin will get his chances because injuries are almost certain when a 200 pounder is flying around like that every game. It's still a far cry from choosing between Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet.
Txmaizenblue
Thu, Sep 9, 2010 : 7:34 a.m.
"set the teams single-game rushing record" That would be single-game rushing record by a quarterback. There have been numerous running backs at Michigan that have rushed for over 200 yds in a game.
tzgoblue
Thu, Sep 9, 2010 : 6:58 a.m.
I was very skeptical last year about DR ever making it as a QB due to his apparent lack of ability to throw the ball. I went to the spring game and was amazed at the progress he had made. I knew then, he would win the QB battle. His whole attitude and approach was upbeat. His accuracy throwing the ball during that spring game showed he had put in a ton of extra work to make himself better. As for RR and our staff being stupid and not capable of recruiting or coaching at a high level, apparently they were able to see that this kid had the potential to play QB when the other big programs simply wanted to get him to move him to another position. Another point that needs to be made concerning RR and his staff when it comes to recruiting. They recruited several DB's this year. I read all the comments about only getting 3 star recruits. Well, these true freshman have shown up and preceded to put themselves ahead of the redshirt sophmores and others. Apparently the staff know what they were doing. Unfortunately, the older guys are not able to accept the challenge of competition from these young freshman and have decided to take the low road and quit rather than work harder and try to earn playing time. I hope they find a program that will just hand them a starting spot and not make them compete for playing time or a position, and most of all I hope we get to play those teams. RR and staff are working hard and DR is a prime example of this hard work as are the other young players that are now stepping up.
PortageLkBlu
Thu, Sep 9, 2010 : 6:46 a.m.
Denard's got talent and our great coach RR will develop it. My barbecu on football Sat. just started tasting better. Do I think we'll drop some, hell yes we will because we're an unpolished gem or work in progress and the improvement over last year should be obvious even to our resident complainers. As I see what RR is doing here and the type of players he's getting I understand why it was tough, slow going when he got here considering what he had to work with. For some that can be patient and understand football or even that are watching this great thing unfold this is absolutely great entertainment and fun. I pity the complainers they just don't seem to enjoy the game and after all this is really about fun entertainment, Go Blue, Go RR!