Tag: Devin Gardner

The Quarterback Competition: Spring 2010 Highlights

Five Questions for the Spring Game

Michigan fans should keep a close eye on sophomore safety Carvin Johnson (#13) this Saturday

Everybody else is doing it, so I might as well join.  These are the five things I’m most interested to see on Saturday.

1. Who will play free safety?  And will they be any good at it?
I am on the record as thinking Ray Vinopal should be the starting free safety in 2011.  Of course, Vinopal transferred to Pitt a few weeks ago, and now there will be another brand new starter at FS this year.  Nobody appears to want the starting job; the punishment for earning the job is a broken ankle (Troy Woolfolk), transferring to a Big East school (Vinopal, Ryan Mundy), or public embarrassment and a forced position change to linebacker (Cam Gordon, Steve Brown).

Sophomore Carvin Johnson will be the likely starter at FS on Saturday.  He hasn’t quite earned the hype that Gordon earned in spring last year, but that didn’t turn out so well for Michigan, so maybe practice observers are showing some restraint when evaluating the safety position this year.  I have some questions about Johnson’s long-term viability at the FS position – he’s more of a strong safety, in my opinion – because of his speed.  But Brandent Englemon wasn’t particularly fast, either, and I would be ecstatic if Johnson played as well as Englemon did in 2007.

2. Which of the running backs emerges from the pile?
I’m also on the Michael Cox bandwagon, which you probably know if you’ve ever visited the site before.  Last year Cox was the most impressive runner in the spring game (unofficially, he had 6 carries, 38 yards, and a 22-yard TD run).  For some reason unbeknownst to me, the number of carries he got in the spring game matched his entire 2010 regular season total, too (6 carries, 56 yards).  In competitive situations, that gives Cox approximately 25 carries, 207 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 3 rushes of 20+ yards (I don’t have stats for the 2009 spring game).

But I’ve been touting Cox as the team’s best runner since late 2009, so my opinion clearly doesn’t carry much weight with the coaching staff.  Other options include Stephen Hopkins, who has reportedly shared first team duties this spring with Cox; Michael Shaw, who’s really fast and not much else; and Vincent Smith, who’s average at everything except height.  I don’t really know which one will come out of the spring looking the best, and the coaches have essentially stated that nobody has separated himself from the pack.  For now I’m expecting to see Cox have the most impressive day, but I’m trying to have an open mind.

3. Who’s going to play WILL?
Maybe I’m the only one, but I’m pretty nervous about the weakside linebacker position going into the 2011 season.  For all the criticism of Jonas Mouton the past couple seasons, I think he would have been perfect as an inside linebacker in this defense.  Unfortunately, he’s graduating just as a suitable defense and coaching staff gets installed.  Meanwhile, his potential replacements include converted safeties, a transfer, and a guy poking his head out of the doghouse.

The starting WILL seems to be redshirt sophomore Mike Jones, a 208-pounder who looks like a safety walked up to the line of scrimmage.  But no, really, he’s a linebacker.  In case you’re wondering, that’s approximately seven pounds lighter than Steve Brown was back in 2009 when he was an undersized outside linebacker.  Brandin Hawthorne, another converted safety, has seen some time at WILL but is even smaller at 203 lbs.  Marell Evans transferred back to Michigan from Hampton and has one year of eligibility left.  And finally, redshirt sophomore Isaiah Bell has seen a bit of playing time on the weakside, but he doesn’t seem to be like a viable option.

Evans might be your starting WILL in September, but with incumbent MIKE starter Kenny Demens out this spring with a shoulder injury, the Hampton transfer has reportedly been the #1 middle ‘backer.  I’ll be curious to see how Jones and the others stand up to linemen and fullbacks, but hopefully they can channel some Ian Gold and Larry Foote action.

4. Will we see any positive signs from William Campbell?
In all honesty, Campbell ought to have been a redshirt freshman in 2010.  If that were the case, it wouldn’t be quite so concerning that he hadn’t done much on the field yet.  But now he’s going to be a junior, and he had better start producing soon if it’s going to happen.  I really can’t think of a better staff in college football to get the most out of Campbell, so if it’s going to happen for the big guy, this is his chance.  I’m not that familiar with defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, but head coach Brady Hoke and defensive coordinator Greg Mattison both have outstanding track records with defensive linemen.

I mean no offense to Ricky Barnum – or whoever’s lined up opposite of Campbell – but if there’s anyone I hope to see get destroyed on Saturday, it’s him.  If Campbell can turn into a playmaker at the 3-tech DT position, that takes some of the pressure off Michigan’s rush ends and undersized weakside linebackers.  I have a hard time seeing someone with Campbell’s outsized body and personality fade into obscurity, so let’s hope his play matches his gusto.

5. Will Denard tie his shoelaces?  How close will the quarterback competition be?
I have no doubts that Denard Robinson will be the starting quarterback on Saturday.  You don’t bench a Heisman candidate that quickly, no matter how good the backup plays.  I didn’t believe the Devin Gardner hype in spring 2010 because true freshmen simply aren’t very good, but now . . . I might put some stock in it. Gardner has always seemed to be a better fit in a pro-style offense than the spread, so I think this offense suits him more than Robinson.  Denard’s decision-making and accuracy scare me a little bit, although I admit his improvement from 2009 to 2010 was pretty incredible.  There’s a possibility that he will make a similar leap in 2011, but last year’s spring practice reports about Denard were glowing.  This year’s . . . not so much.

Gardner has the stature, the arm, and the poise to be a franchise quarterback.  In the long run, I fully expect him to be a better signal caller than Robinson.  Whether that happens in 2011, 2012, or beyond, I think #7 will carry on the tradition of great Michigan quarterbacks.  The problem with the QB situation is that even if Gardner proves to be the best quarterback on Saturday (and in August practices), Michigan doesn’t have the depth at the position to move Robinson to running back or wide receiver.  Perhaps the two best athletes on the team are Michigan’s only two quarterbacks.  I can think of worse problems.

Full Contact Scrimmage Highlights

Here’s a look at some full contact football for the first time in a couple months.  Several guys make some nice plays in these highlights, including Michael Cox, Devin Gardner, Will Campbell, Marvin Robinson, and . . . Jihad Rasheed (#18, running back), a redshirt freshman walk-on from Southeastern High School in Detroit.

Mailbag: Why would Denard change positions?

Denard Robinson: Faster than a horse.

Thanks for the blog, which I enjoy. As you are clearly knowledgeable about football, I was surprised by the following comment:

“My initial reaction is to expect that Robinson will transfer, perhaps to Pitt, where former Michigan offensive coordinator Calvin Magee has alighted. He could go to Pittsburgh, sit out 2011, and have two years of eligibility to play quarterback. In my opinion, the best chance Hoke has to retain Robinson is to make a pitch for Robinson to become a running back or wide receiver.”It seems to me that if Robinson stays, he simply must be a quarterback. Otherwise, with Forcier gone, Michigan would be down to one scholarship quarterback, which is clearly unacceptable.

As of now, there are no QB commits in the 2011 class, and at this late date, I suspect the best Hoke could get is a mid-range three-star who will show up in August unprepared for Division I football. If Robinson transfers, we will have to live with that. But if Robinson stays, I cannot imagine that the coaches would choose to hand the job to Gardner, with an anonymous true-freshman three-star kid as his backup.

Let’s assume that Gardner would beat out Robinson in an open competition (not at all obvious to me, but I’ll run with it). You still need two guys ready to play the position. QB is hard enough to learn when you practice it full-time. I can’t imagine that Robinson would have be able to learn a new playbook, get fully prepared to back up Gardner, and have any significant amount of time left to practice other another position that he has never played before.

On top of all that, Robinson seems to want to play QB. I doubt that he would survive a whole season at running back, given his propensity for injury, and he has no history catching the ball. But even if Robinson wanted and were suited to another position, the lack of depth at QB pretty much precludes that idea.

Again: love the blog. I just wonder what on earth you were thinking when you suggested a position switch for Denard. It seems to me the world’s most impractical idea.

Best regards, Marc

Here’s my thought process on the matter…

Denard is an excellent runner. He’s a mediocre thrower and I’m not sure he has the ability to play quarterback in an offense that’s something other than an option offense where he’s a frequent running threat.  His mechanics are iffy, his decision making is iffy, and his 62.5% completion percentage belies his scattershot arm.  There’s a frustrating lack of accuracy on short throws from Robinson that often prevents his receivers from doing much with the ball once it hits their hands – and that’s to say One could point to Roy Roundtree’s frustrating drops – especially in the second half of the season – as a reason that Robinson’s completion percentage should be higher, but I would argue that Robinson’s running ability created a significant amount of wide open, easy catches (see Terrence Robinson’s catch against UConn, Roundtree’s touchdown against Mississippi State, and Roundtree’s long touchdown against Illinois for just a few examples).

I don’t think I said this in the other day’s post, but I expect that Brady Hoke will recruit one or more quarterbacks in the Class of 2011. They probably won’t be top-tier guys, but they’ll be quarterbacks nonetheless. That would leave Devin Gardner, perhaps Tate Forcier (if he’s reinstated), and a freshman or two.

I believe Gardner is a better fit for a pro-style offense than Rodriguez’s zone read option. Gardner isn’t a great runner. I think he’s a pocket guy who can scramble. He would be great out of the shotgun, but he’s not going to break big runs like Denard, Pat White, etc. I won’t say that Rodriguez and Gardner were a mismatch, but I think Gardner would be more effective when deployed like Ohio State’s Jim Tressel uses perennial bonehead Terrelle Pryor.  So here are the steps I was suggesting Michigan should take:

1. Prepare Gardner to be the starter.
2. Bring in a freshman or two and see if they can handle being the backup.
3. Move Denard to RB or WR. Create a package for him to be the “Wildcat QB” or just let him get a few reps at QB in case of an emergency. And if people get hurt ahead of him, he could always move back to QB in a Paul Thompson (ex-Oklahoma QB/WR) or Justin Siller (Purdue QB/RB) type of way.

I don’t think Denard is as injury-prone as you suggested, although I do think he’s injury-prone for a quarterback and was asked to run too much. He got his shoulder dinged up, but the main reason that mattered was because he was playing quarterback. A minor shoulder injury isn’t a big deal for a RB because he doesn’t have to throw. And Denard did bang up his hip and knee, but I would guess a majority of running backs get dinged up throughout the year. They were all pretty minor injuries, and I don’t think they would have been as big of a deal if Denard wasn’t a QB and touching the ball on 100% of the plays.

It’s unclear whether Robinson has the ability to play wide receiver, which requires precise route-running and good hand-eye coordinator.  Quarterbacks usually have pretty good hands, and with Robinson’s speed, I don’t doubt that he could play receiver, at least the college level.  And he’s already essentially a running back at times; we’ve seen his patience in waiting for blocks to develop, his ability to outrun or outmaneuver defenders, and his ability to accelerate through the hole.  Receiver might be a huge question mark, but I have no doubt that Robinson could be an outstanding running back at the college level.  I see no discernible difference between Robinson and Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson – one is listed at 6’0″, 193 lbs. and the other is 5’11”, 191 lbs. – who seems to be doing rather well for himself.

Like I said, it’s partially dependent on whom Hoke can recruit to play QB. If he can’t recruit someone for the class of 2011 and Tate Forcier doesn’t return, then Denard surely has to stay at quarterback. But I agree that Denard does want to play quarterback, and there’s something to be said for that. I just also think that Denard’s NFL future depends on his versatility, and playing RB or WR might prepare him more for his future. Guys who convert from QB in college to another position in the NFL generally aren’t anything more than role players in the NFL, although there are a few exceptions (Josh Cribbs, Antwaan Randle-El, etc.). There are guys out there like Julian Edelman, Brad Smith, and Bert Emanuel, but I don’t think many superstar college players want to be the next Bert Emanuel.

None of this is to say that I dislike Denard Robinson or that I want him to transfer.  His leadership, on-field demeanor, effort, and talent are unquestionable.  I hope he remains at Michigan for two more years, Brady Hoke can use him effectively, and Robinson goes on to a long and illustrious football career.  If his goal is to be an outstanding college quarterback, win a lot of games, and re-insert himself into the Heisman race, then it might be in Robinson’s best interest to play at a different school.  But if his goal is to maximize his effectiveness and begin a transition to a position that is more likely to get him to the NFL, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to become a running back.

Tate Forcier, ex-Wolverine . . . for now

See you later, Tate.  Or not.

During Wednesday’s press conference to introduce new head coach Brady Hoke, athletic director David Brandon was asked about the status of Tate Forcier, Michigan’s starting quarterback in 2009 and backup in 2010.  Brandon responded that Forcier is “no longer with the program.”

Some reports indicate that Forcier is no longer at Michigan due to flunking out during the fall semester.  Mike Forcier, Tate’s father, stated that his son did not flunk out of school. Regardless, he was ineligible for the Gator Bowl against Mississippi State.  Forcier is supposedly enrolled at a community college in the hopes of re-applying to the University of Michigan.  If Forcier were to be reinstated to U of M for the fall semester, he would not lose a year of eligibility, as far as I know; he would be a true junior for the 2011 season.

Forcier is a 4-star recruit from San Diego who enrolled early in January 2009 to take the position vacated by Steve Threet (transferred to Arizona State) and Nick Sheridan (relegated to the bench).  He immediately seized the starting position and  held onto it for his entire season freshman.  The team went 5-7 and Forcier finished 165-for-281 (58.7%) for 2050 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

Some reported immaturity and the meteoric rise of classmate Denard Robinson sent Forcier to the sideline for the majority of 2010.  He originally responded poorly to the benching, entertaining thoughts of a transfer when true freshman Devin Gardner overtook the sophomore Forcier for second place on the depth chart during the 2010 opener against Connecticut.  However, Forcier’s third-place spot on the depth chart turned out to be maturity based rather than performance-based, and he eventually overtook Gardner.  Forcier saw spot duty in several games, but really showed out when Robinson was injured against Illinois.  Forcier finished out the second half of the 67-65, triple-overtime victory.  He ended the season 54-for-84 (64.3%) for 597 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.