detnews.com: Devin Gardner affirms commitment to U-M, considers early enrollment
http://www.detnews.com/article/20091105/OPINION03/911050347/Devin-Gardn…
Couple interesting quotes of note:
"If I didn't see the opportunity (to compete right away) I never would have committed to Michigan," explained Gardner. "I talked to the coaches and they said it is wide open. Obviously I'm going to be behind, but if I can come in and get it done they're going to give me a chance."
November 5th, 2009 at 6:04 AM ^
Please explain this to Seantrel, Jeff Luc, Tony Jefferson, and any really good defensive backs.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:21 PM ^
Just curious, what do you guys think about your chances with Seantrel?
November 6th, 2009 at 12:08 AM ^
Zero.
November 5th, 2009 at 6:12 AM ^
Thank you football gods!!!!!
November 5th, 2009 at 6:17 AM ^
Please enroll early.
November 5th, 2009 at 6:48 AM ^
It would be really nice to see QB suddenly become a position of strength and depth. There is more rebuilding to do, but shoring up QB takes care of a lot of shortcomings. The pre and post-injury records of Forcier and no accident. So, by next season, we should be looking at a healthy Forcier, a DRob who has been in the system more, and a DG who has been through spring ball.
The main thing about DG is that he is physically bigger than both Forcier and DRob, and could end up being more resistant to injury, not to mention having more strength to get an extra yard or two when needed.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:41 AM ^
...like at the goal line?
November 5th, 2009 at 11:02 AM ^
Too soon!
November 5th, 2009 at 12:19 PM ^
I know! He really tried to "sneak" that one in there didn't he?
November 5th, 2009 at 7:01 AM ^
Every time I read an article on Devin I get more impressed. Not because of what he has done on the field, we all know he is a stud. I love his mentality. He just wants to compete and earn a spot and be great. Doesn't expect anything, he wants to earn it. Even If he doesn't see the field next year for some reason, he WILL make this team better.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:06 AM ^
We've all seen what happens when you get a QB that has talent but nothing going on upstairs (Mallett).
I am so impressed with how this kid holds himself and hope that he doesn't loose his balance of confidence and humility (a problem that I think Forcier has had after the beginning of the season).
November 5th, 2009 at 7:15 AM ^
When asked if he plans to take visits to others schools, Gardner didn't mince words.
"No," he responded emphatically.
Awesome. 6'4" and 210 lbs. Forcier is small and I don't think he will ever have a year where he is totally healthy the whole way through. It's hard not to get hurt when you weigh 180. DG should be able to pick up a couple more yards on some plays than Tate. Tate slides all the time to avoid contact. I don't Devin will have to do that as much, so we'll get more yards.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:50 AM ^
sliding is not necessarily a bad thing. I would have no problem seeing DG slide when appropriate.
Also, is there empirical data that suggests being a bigger QB leads to fewer injuries?
November 5th, 2009 at 9:17 AM ^
Sliding isn't necessarily a bad thing. DG is 30 pounds heavier though. If he came up against a defender and needed to knock him back 1 yard for a first down, he'd have a better chance of doing that then Forcier. It just seems logical that being bigger leads to fewer injuries than if you're a toothpick.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:23 AM ^
If he comes in as early enrollee, he will be in spring ball, maybe beat out DRob for back-up slot if he shows a grasp of the passing offense. With Forcier's building injury history (in game as well as long term), DG may be seeing playing time next year as well.
4 weeks ago, I was thinking I'd rather have DG stay the full year in high school so that he'd almost certainly redshirt next year, but recently my thoughts have changed.....
November 5th, 2009 at 10:14 AM ^
I wouldn't mind if he beat out DRob, just so we could put Robinson somewhere else on the field (like WR) and have him out there on the majority of offensive snaps. The kid has to much speed to be sitting on the bench like he has been this year for the majority of the time. That being said, if he doesn't beat out DRob, I would assume that DG would be getting a redshirt. Which wouldn't be that bad of a thing either.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:53 AM ^
Not the best thing for M's starter on Saturday to hear, but sometimes you may have to "take one for the program," perhaps?
Devin Gardner with no redshirt = Tate Forcier as QB for team other than Michigan
Will be interesting to see how it plays out.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:04 AM ^
Indeed it will be interesting considering the way both of his brothers handled being buried on the depth chart.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:18 AM ^
I don't think Tate will lose the starting job next year, nor even the year after that. All I'm saying is that if DG does come in Jan, he'll have a chance to win the back-up job. This means that he'll be one ill-advised Tate run away from being the starting QB. I think with Tate's brothers' experiences, he'll think long and hard about transferring and losing a year if he loses the starting job to Gardner. Especially since if he did lose the starting job, HE'D be one ill-advised DG run away from being starting QB again. Remember, Tate didn't shy away from us even after we had those other two QB's who shall not be named in the verbal commit column. He didn't shy away from competition then, and I suspect he wouldn't shy away from a DG competition either.
Plus, DG has to know that even if he isn't the "STARTER" until year 4, he'll probably get plenty of chances to start with Tate's size inherently making him more injury prone before that point, and he'll hopefully get lots of sick mop-up time in Tate year 3 & 4. Then he can step into the Michigan juggernaut, put up ri-damn-diculous stats his senior year, and be a high draft pick in the NFL. Once the rookie salary cap hits, the motivation for staying longer in college goes up.
I just think we may be looking more at a Major Applewhite / Chris Sims situation starting next year. While not ideal, that didn't work out too bad for Texas or the players (UT was 49-15 in that 5-yr span- avg AP final ranking of 11.8, Applewhite set 8 QB records and had a 2-1 bowl game record, Sims was 1-1 in bowl games and had enough of a college career to get drafted)
November 5th, 2009 at 8:37 AM ^
The possible circumstance that could possibly be an outlier in your analysis is if 1) Tate is as or nearly as good as the early reviews as a passer, but shows little improvement and/or increased durability in the run game and, 2) Gardner is a freakishly good fit in Rich Rod's scheme. If these things occur, I don't think Tate will have a choice but to transfer, and I would not blame him. I know he has seemed very committed to Michigan, but I don't think the possibility of an injury to Gardner would keep him around for very long if that is his only hope to contribute. That being said, if Gardner enrolls early, I think we will know very quickly the intentions both Michigan and Forcier. If he will relegated to "good backup" for this team, but could really excell somewhere else, I say put it to him plainly in order for him to secure two years of eligibility should he leave.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:22 AM ^
I still think the best option is Gardner redshirting, spring practice or not. Trotting out freshman QB's every year isn't a recipe for success and Forcier/Robinson will each have a year+ under their belts.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:12 AM ^
And if they don't do something about the offensive line it won't matter if the Qb is a freshman or a sophomore, they'll spend the season running for their life more than passing.
November 5th, 2009 at 10:33 AM ^
I totally agree. Let's say Gardner ultimately winds up being as good as Vince Young or Terrelle Pryor could be - that still means he will suffer through a rather average freshman year. At this point, the team has the depth to redshirt him, and I doubt the coaches want to invest in another year of freshman mistakes when two perfectly good second-year QBs are also on the team. I know it is popular to talk up the new guy and rip the current QB, but Tate is REALLY good for a freshman, and I fully expect him to be the starter here for at least 2 more years, if not more.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:33 AM ^
Can't wait to see the kid in a winged helmet.
He gonna be goooood.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:40 AM ^
After seeing what size can do for you in this kind of offense, I'm hoping to see Gardener sooner rather than later. I'm not saying he should start opening day, but I don't think I want to see Forcier for the next 3 years with Gardener on the bench. Of course, this is all assuming that Gardener lives up to the hype (and Forcier could come back next year as a much more mature player, cementing his spot). Overall, it is a good problem to have.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:19 AM ^
It seems very unlikely that DR is better than DG. Robinson can't throw. I hope we play him as a WR/RB/Percy Harvin more next year.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:32 AM ^
This sounds great in theory, but we also have no idea how well DR can catch. He's dropped a few snaps already this year (yes, it's different, but still...) so I don't think it's a stretch to think that he might not be the best WR.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:19 AM ^
I still want Gardner to redshirt next year, if only to create some space between our QBs on the depth chart. However, if his natural skills and grasp of the system after redshirting means that he win=s the starting job the year after I am more than okay with that. If RS Frosh Devin > Junior Tate that can only mean good things for M.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:58 AM ^
No doubt Devin Gardner is far and away our most exciting recruit. His youtube highlight reel is very impressive and he seems to be dominant in high school. But, that is all we are really working with right now. I agree he seems to be very intelligent, down to earth, and 100% committed. That too is very exciting. I'm not sure anyone here can say much more than this at this point.
Now that all this has been said, change the date of my post to November 2008, and the name from Devin Gardner to Tate Forcier...could have posted the same thing about Tate. I certainly have not written off Tate by any stretch, but, even though it is fun to speculate and be excited, we won't really know how good Devin is until he gets on the field at the Big House. Fingers crossed though!
November 5th, 2009 at 10:53 AM ^
Let me preface this post by saying I am a huge fan of Tate and Shoelace and cannot wait to see them grow in the program. That said, I am no longer a fan of having Devin redshirt next year, but rather give him a shot at the job. I still believe in Tate's potential, but obviously durability is an early question. I listened to Kirk Herbstreit's analysis yesterday of what makes the Oregon offense so dangerous is the true run/pass threat at the QB position. Devin to me appears to be the best dual threat for next year, presuming he picks up the offense quickly. Tate is elusive and adept at opportunistic yards, but is not a threat to score every down.
Let's start a competition between these two, move D-Rob to another position (but also utilize him in an Antonio Bass type capacity), and return the program to great heights on offense. Then, we'll get back to the larger issue of getting quality depth on D...
November 5th, 2009 at 11:01 AM ^
It would be a huge advantage for everyone to get Gardner there in the spring, not only for his development but it would help determine whether or not he should be red-shirted.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:10 AM ^
these days means holding on to the ball and no INTs.
So yes, enroll early.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:10 AM ^
Since the 'Option-read' is so QB intensive, next year can be viewed as year two of the regime since Tate and Denard are true freshman this year and will have a year under their belts as sophs. The difference in knowledge and experience they will have over Devin will be significant and like someone wrote, Coach Rod isn't going to want to go through freshman growing pains when he has two sophs with loads more knowledge and experience on the team. It will be interesting to see if Denard holds on to the back-up spot; he has progressed from his run always role, and he still has a few games to go to garner experience. Tate is definitely going to be entrenched as the starter for next year, though.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:12 AM ^
Remember when Tebow started taking snaps from Chris Leek? Leek was the passing QB and Tebow would come in to pound away and give different looks, while earning the respect of the coaches and the players. Eventually Tebow took over and Chris sat most of his senior year. Not saying this will happen but i can see this scenario developing if DG has a good spring and shows he can contribute immediately in September.
November 5th, 2009 at 11:34 AM ^
That's not how I remember it. Leak and Tebow only played together 1 year.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:28 PM ^
Leak also took about 85 to 90% of the snaps that year and Tebow took the other 10 to 15%.
November 5th, 2009 at 1:04 PM ^
That's how I remember it.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:07 PM ^
I really hope he is able to redshirt. If he can beat out Tate and DR, it means these guys are struggling to grasp the system and we have an inexperienced QB running the team for the third year in a row.
Many compare DG to Pryor, but he is just a bit smaller (40 pounds) and a bit slower. His QB mechanics are better, but consider that the two No. 1 recruits in the last two years (Pryor and Barkley) have struggled in established programs with significantly better talent.
Our best hope is for next year is that Tate really distinguishes himself next year. That's when we start looking at the QB spot as a position of strength rather than the marginal or inexperienced guy with the hot hand.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:18 PM ^
I hope he does not enroll early, otherwise expectations will be through the roof, until we get our 2011 QB who will move Devin to WR, pairing up with Denard in the Slot.