Al Borges on the QB position
Rivals has a nice little interview with Al Borges where he talks about Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner. The article is linked below:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=rivals-1208348
The more I read of Borges talking about our players the more I like him. Just seems to be a smart guy whose got his head on straight.
I hope this is not a re-post.
Look at the board today, if this is a re-post, I am pretty sure you will get a free pass.
I checked the board and didn't see it already there (unless it is buried in an obscure title). Plus, the article said that it was only posted about an hour and a half ago so thought it was pretty safe.
It is good to hear Devin has progressed the way he has because at some point this year he will get his number called. Denard greatest asset also exposes him to injury. The nice thing is when Devin goes in this year we won't have a camera close up on Tate's reaction.
I'm actually hoping that his number won't be called (at least not in non-garbage situations). At most schools it's pretty rare for the backup QB to make appearances. If we don't overuse our 193-pound starting QB as a runner, maybe that will be true for us, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLaaHjt4zb8&feature=player_embedded
Talks about the QB position, Vince Smith, and more.
I'm really happy to hear him getting some love from Borges. I always have had a soft spot for Vincent, and I was a bit worried that he'd be left out in the new offense.
Glad to hear about Devin though. He's the future and 99% of the writing is done about Denard (not that I don't eagerly wait to read that too).
See my post immediately below your post. When you say that Devin is the future, do you see a situation in the next two years in which Devin becomes the starter over Denard? It seemed inconceivable, but with so much in flux and the new offensive style more suited for Devin's strengths, who knows. Curious about your opinion on this.
In my opinion the only way this happens is if Denard is injured for an extended periond of time and Devin comes in and just tears it up. Denard is a preseason heisman favorite, so him being over taken outright doesn't seem likely. So basically he is the face of Michigan football right now and Devin will have to wait his turn is the most likely scenario.
Not a chance in hell for next year. Hoke would have to be very dumb (which he isn't) to put Devin as the starter in the first few games. If Denard is struggling, then maybe later in the year.
I think it's pretty obvious that Borges' system benefits Devin more than Denard, and Devin is certainly talented, but for some reason I think Denard will still be better. Assuming the offense is the one that Borges ran in the first half of the SDSU/Navy game, I think Denard prospers with the caveat that one of the backs needs to step it up and Roundtree needs to cut down on dropped balls.Their QB ran maybe 1/4 of what Denard averaged (and I think that was their most "gimmicky" game) and if he's not running, I don't think we have the offense we did last year because our #2/3/4 talented skill players are nowhere near as good as Denard is.
You and I disagree about Denard vs. RB's, but I think he still needs to run quite a bit, (enough to scare the shit out of defenses) to dominate a game like he did at ND.
Thanks for posting on this slow day.
Parsing some of Borges' words, I sort of get the sense that that he would prefer a QB like Devin over a QB like Denard. Not ground-breaking, I know, but at the same time, I am somewhat concerned about how this will play out over the course of the season, given that Borges' preferred offense is better suited to Devin's 6'4" than Denard's generous 6'. Obvious cavest that I have confidence in Borges - the guy has been an OC at the highest level and has done well - but I wonder how this will play our over the next 2 years.
Borges - “I’m a tight end guy. I like having them." lolz
but seriously, i am starting to warm up to Borges' evaluations of the offense. Even though i was firmly in the RichRod camp, i am definitely being convinced more and more by the new staff. September cannot get here soon enough
Has there ever been a time to be more excited about the QB position at UM?
Been more scared.
2008 takes the cake. When reports say a walkon is pushing for the starting job, you know it will be a slow death all season long.
i greatly appreciate the flexibility that Borges has shown in his approach to developing Denard into a formidable QB. I would love to see Devin get a few series here and there to keep him fresh and acclimated to playing.
I wonder how the learning curve is going for both. The only system they've been exposed to utilizes a handful of formations, runs, and routes. While if this new system is anything like it was at SDSU it features a ton of diverse formations and a pretty nice amount of runs and passes. It's a real big shift in coaching ideology for them. Should be a third incredibly interesting spring game in a row. (Four if you count Saline HS, but we didn't see that really)
Borges, just like Hoke, has said everything I have wanted to hear. They genuinely seem like they are thrilled to have this opportunity and for all the right reasons. I'm excited and am optimistic about what this coaching staff can do for us here.
From the video:
Regarding the difference between Auburn and Michigan-
"Michigan is a midwest version of... well, I'm not going to go there..."
Any ideas on how that sentence was going to finish?
That got a little awkwatd there at the end.
I figure he just didn't want to make any comparisons. They might leave a lot to be said and possibly upset some people, who knows.
I'm looking forward to finally having a returning starter.
But the Detroit News had an article (probably from the same interview) today:
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<br>http://detnews.com/article/20110405/SPORTS0201/104050409/U-M’s-Al-Borges-doesn’t-want-to-slow-down-Denard-Robinson
Yeah, Borges just kind of left us all hanging. I was under the impression he was going to give a PAC10 school being that he just talked about being from the west coast, but i really have no clue.