Hoke confirms Devin Gardner to play receiver
DG is 12 now? What # is RR?
Yeah, don't know how I missed that.
He took the #21 legacy jersey.
please sir (i presume), your avi is distracting me at work.
This one won't help then...
me. Insert obligatory high school boy comment.
All I need to see to feel comfortable with this decision: ""Devin is one of the best athletes I've ever seen," Robinson said."
This coming from one of the best athletes I'VE ever seen.
I like the idea of Denard to Devin better than Devin to Denard.
Don't be too surprised when Borges makes you amend that statement slightly at a critical moment in the season.
Transcontinental.... but fast! It will now be running express.
QB, long snapper, AND receiver!?!?
Triple threat!
Jump balls ahoy, too.
I see this as a move like Ohio putting Pryor at receiver in the red zone to throw jump balls and use his height and athleticism. Honestly though, he could develop into a true receiver with time.
I was at the OSU vs. Texas Fiesta bowl where Pryor was split out as reciever and caught that touchdown in the corner of the endzone. It seemed like absolutely everyone there except the Texas coaches and defense knew what the play was going to be (since they pretty much decided not to put anyone on him for some asinine reason).
That being said, splitting out a tall athletic QB can be an effective weapon if used properly and in moderation. I approve of this as well.
he either can play the position or he can't. he's obviously tall and athletic. if he has good hands and can run routes well, he should play a lot a WR.
I was hoping Devin was gonna be the next Drew Henson. Will he stil be the #2 QB or do they feel comfortable with Bellomy taking that role? I know the coaching staff has praised his ability.
The next Drew Henson? In what respect?
a prototypical size Michigan QB who has the ability to roll out and make plays. I had always thought that Devin would be better in a pro-system much with what Borges wants to implement. Devin has great size and very good speed. Devin would be able to play action roll out, make a play when the line breaks down or staying in the pocket and making good throws. While i know he still has progess to be made with the passing game. I think there could be similarities to his development.
i was hoping for a poor man's version of vince young from gardner. henson had a cannon arm, which was his best asset. though, like you say, he was athletic enough to make plays. gardner's problem is his arm and accuracy.
I can only assume handsome white guy who is good at baseball.
You do realize we're talking about Drew Henson, right?
(MLB career stats: 8 games, .111 batting average, 2 runs)
Henson has played in 8 more MLB games than probably 99.999% of the blog.
Gotta be able to hit the curveball to make it in the show though.
Look - I know guys who didn't sniff the majors who I consider good at baseball. Drew Henson did more in pro baseball than a guy like RVB will every do in pro football, but it doesn't mean he's not a good football player.
Taking away that my original post was a joke to begin with - I didn't say "HOF baseball player" or "All-Star baseball player" or even "very good baseball player." So, cool, you ripped on Drew Henson. For having bad stats as a professional baseball player.
HIs chosen profession. The man had options and chose the profession that he had the least amount of skill in. The last time I saw him play baseball in Toledo against the Mudhens he struck out 4 times and had two errors at third. He lasted longer than he should have because of the money invested and the hype. To this day I believe he would have been the number one draft pick and would have had an excellent football career.
He chose the profession that he had the least amount of skill in? Come on. If you were really good at two different things, and the one you were second best at gave you the chance to make millions to do it, would you pass? He loved baseball, he was good at it, and the fucking Yankees offered him millions to come play for them. And you're hating on him because he might have had a better future playing football (but might not, and very likely may have made less money)?
Kind of absurd, right?
Hating on him? Where did you see any hate? In my opinion he made a poor choice. If he had waited he might very well have been the number one choice in the draft as many experts were touting him for. And in those days that would have been about twice what he got for baseball. Plus, again in my opinion, he had a better chance of making an impact in football.
How is that absurd?
Sure, experts thought he could have been a big time draft pick in football, but other experts felt the same about him in baseball. And baseball players not only make more per year than football players, they usually have a much longer career. So from a strictly financial standpoint, baseball makes more sense. Throw in the fact that the money was on the table for baseball, whereas he would have had to wait a year for football and risk not making as much, the choice was pretty easy.
What you're leaving out though is that he said he preferred playing baseball. This happens. Same reason that Heisman winner from FSU in the early 90's whose name I can't pull out chose to play in the NBA over the NFL, even though he was a much better football player.
You can say "I wouldn't have made that choice in the same situation." But to say that you think he made a poor choice is absurd. In my opinion.
I believe the name you are looking for is Charlie Ward. 1993 Heisman Trophy winner, twice-drafted in baseball and a 1st round pick in the 1994 NBA Draft.
Had a pretty long NBA career- probably longer than he would have lasted in the NFL. Interesting sidenote- he also got picked in the MLB draft.
EDIT: Yeah, what he said ^^
When Henson left, fans weren't really used to people leaving early to take multi-million dollar contracts yet. Now that it is almost a cliche, people are more used to it. Henson's choice was extremely unpopular then, but he did get offered an amount of money that is as much or more than many college grads will make in their entire careers to go to New York.
If it happened now, he wouldn't get nearly as much crap for it, even if it was orchestrated by Ohio fan George Steinbrenner.
It's interesting that when someone takes a stance different from yours then they're absurd. Since I'm so absurd I'll go way out on a limb and say the second poor choice he made was to stick so long to baseball when it was obvious that he wasn't going to be a major leaguer. If he'd have made that decision earlier he might have found a place in the NFL.
And Charlie Ward didn't have near the size of Henson. His making it in the NFL as a quarterback would have been problematic at best.
No way was Henson worth what he was signed to at the time. Good baseball player, but contract was about getting him out of AA.
That's not meant as a knock on Henson because I was rooting for him in baseball even though I was disappointed to see him go.
I'm clearly still very bitter that he left U of M for the MLB. He's a good enough baseball player for the Yanks to sign him and I was not taking that away from him, but he was obviously not considered a good professional baseball player, especially when compared to the potential everyone thought he had in the sport.
He left UM mostly because OSU alum Stienbrenner couldn't stand to see his team lose with Drew as the starting QB, so he made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
that Henson was Baseball America's high school player of the year as a senior. A lot of folks thought he wa going to be a very good PROFESSIONAL baseball player.
Yeah, but that happens all the time in every sport. A lot of people thought guys like David Terrell or Chris Perry should have had much better professional careers too, but it doesn't always work out. He had a great opportunity and he took it, like most of us probably would have done. Don't be bitter.
If I was in his position I would've absolutely made the same decision. However, as a stereotypical, delusional U of M fan, I reserve the right to irrationally and hypocritically hold a grudge against kids who make the decision to follow their dreams when that dream doesn't benefit my own selfish interests.
That's fair, and I admire your honesty. It is the best policy, after all.
And I'll gladly take the neg.
Drew Henson running naked bootlegs for TD's against OSU was a thing of beauty. I would be happy with Devin Gardner doing the same.
Not sure how with my iphone. Shape is 133 by the way