Denard Robinson

A quote from Angelique Chengelis (Via Twitter): "Can't get over how much UM QB Denard Robinson looks and smiles like Desmond Howard."

I think she may be on to something:

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I believe we've done a look-alike thread before; if not, does anyone have any more good ones from the team?

Edit: Easy on the pic size, please.

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For the past few weeks, I’ve been pretty vocal about my rooting interest in seeing Denard Robinson become Michigan’s starting quarterback, and have often gotten asked why. Scanning MGoBoard this morning, it appears as if the masses are suddenly all a-twitter about Mr. Robinson as well. Before the inevitable Denard-backlash strikes, I’d like to briefly explain my enthusiasm for the young man:

1. I enjoy rooting for the underdog. Unlike Tate, Denard wasn’t bred to be a quarterback, and hasn’t had the benefit of private lessons from the time he was weaned from breast-feeding. Tate was immediately tabbed the presumptive starter by many people on the internet – from commenters on this blog to Brian himself (check the tagline on the site). Obviously, I felt this was somewhat premature, given that Robinson had yet to set foot on campus. Tate has the benefit of years of additional training, and months of additional practice time in the offense – I think it’s a cool story that Denard is able to push him, and it says a lot about Denard’s competitiveness and overall talent-level that he’s able to do so.

2. Many here know me to be a contrarian. Would I derive a healthy amount of satisfaction seeing the legion of amateur-quarterback coaches on this site who write authoritative scouting reports based on 90 second highlight films to be proven wrong? I absolutely would. The gap between Robinson and Forcier, clearly, was oversold by these people from the jump, or the “competition” as it exists, wouldn’t be as intense as it apparently is.

3. Shoelace = Awesome.

4. By far, the most important factor, for me, is that Robinson is exciting. From the little we’ve seen, and the bit more we’ve heard, Robinson’s game is, for lack of a better word, sexy – he’s a touchdown waiting to happen. Forcier’s highest praise, really, is that he’s extremely fundamentally sound. To me, I know which one of those sounds more fun to watch – I’d prefer to watch a dynamic game-breaker than an effective game-manager. I was excited when Michigan hired Rodriguez, because, FINALLY, we had a coach that would find us a quarterback who would inflict as much running-QB trauma on the opposition as we’ve suffered at the hands of Dennis Dixon, Vince Young, Troy Smith, Donovan McNabb, Armanti Edwards, and even such luminaries as Jarious Jackson. Well – we’ve GOT one of those – Denard Robinson.
 

I want to be clear, however: I’m not a football coach. I know nothing about throwing mechanics. My opinion, really, is useless. What I’m laying out here is not “why Denard Robinson is better” – because I am thoroughly unqualified to say such a thing. What I’m saying is why I prefer Robinson.

Fred Jackson in the Detroit News today said that in his 18 years at Michigan, he's never seen anyone so fast, and that "I mean, it's scary. Every time you miss him, strike up the band, it's a touchdown." That and other high praise in the article:

www.detnews.com/article/20090824/SPORTS0201/908240338/1004/-Mr.-X--chang...

I just read an update on this week of practice on mgoblue.com
http://mgoblue.com/football/article.aspx?id=182882
I am not sure whether to be stoked for Denard Robinson of really scared for the defense. Apparently Rodriguez runs some live scrimmage at the end of every practice. The highlights:
Friday Denard rambles 58 yards for a touchdown
Thursday he hits Kelvin Grady for a 23 yard TD.
Wednesday he runs for a touchdown and throws a 45 yard TD to Greg Matthews
Tuesday he rambles 68 yards on a broken play
Monday he scrambles 72 yards for a touchdown, runs for another TD, and passes for two more.

One thing is for sure: this guy is going to be fun to watch. It sounds like we may be watching him for four quarters.

Direct quote from Rodriguez; Troy Woolfolk is afraid that D-Rob holds the title of fastest player on the team.

http://www.freep.com/article/20090814/SPORTS06/908140390/1054/Is-Denard-...?

It seems that most people would agree, myself included, that Denard will play QB and only QB this year. Well let's assume Tate starts, as most believe he will. Does D-Rob venture into other areas, such as sp. teams, maybe even some slot. I know it sounds crazy, but remember RR threw Feagin in on kickoff last year when our QB options were Threet n' out and DEATH. This year RR seems pretty high on Sheridans improvement and Forcier is God to many Michigan fans, with JForce in the mix, albeit deeply buried, and well, not even cleared yet. Do we see RR doing something similar with D-Rob? I would like to see it but who knows. It seems irrational, and the thought didn't even cross my mind until I thought of Feagin last year. So it's possible. This year will be fun no matter what.