August 23rd, 2009 at 11:04 PM ^
He looks worlds better, both in terms of his pocket presence and his mechanics/ability to throw the ball. I also love that he's the kicker.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:08 PM ^
What in the world, he is the kicker too?
You would think they could find someone other than their star quarterback to kick extra points...
Looked good though, looks like he has a lot more zip on his passes compared to his junior film.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:17 PM ^
when I saw DG kicking. It sort of reminded me of old school kickers. Man, this kid is going to be really good. He has pocket presence, good pace on his throws, good balance, big, hard to tackle, fast. And he's coming to UM! Life is good.
August 24th, 2009 at 12:42 AM ^
Gardner probably saw Chad Ochocinco do it and thought he could do it too.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:10 PM ^
loving that a) he's composed, and b) still looking downfield when the pocket breaks.
now let's just pray he doesn't come down on an ankle wrong when he jumps to celebrate with a teammate's touchdown 8 times a game! :)
August 24th, 2009 at 1:38 AM ^
really couldn't run in this game as the QBs were basically off-limits save for two-hand touch
August 24th, 2009 at 11:42 AM ^
The only running he did was on the botched extra point attempt and he got the 2 point conversion anyways. His throwing looked amazing, though.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:17 PM ^
His mechanics are night-and-day from last year. It may just be the clip selection, but it looks like he was really looking to make plays with his arm even with the opportunity to tuck it and run.
He looks like a man among boys.
[/Lavashing inappropriate levels of attention on a 17-year-old kid.]
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:22 PM ^
About the extra points ... Inkster didn't kick them last year. They lacked a reliable placekicker so they just went for two after every touchdown.
August 24th, 2009 at 8:16 AM ^
...they should still go for two. That was probably similar to what Brandon Graham looked like when he kicked in HS.
As a kicker, Devin is one hell of a quarterback.
August 24th, 2009 at 11:43 AM ^
After seeing them botch on extra point and get the conversion anyways, they should just go for it every time. Much simpler.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:29 PM ^
Man, his mechanics are starting to look really solid. Night and day, baby.
Also, color me surprised to see him kicking the extra point. Didn't Mallett do the same thing at his high school back in Texas?
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:32 PM ^
Can anyone explain why he's apparently wearing a no-contact jersey on some plays, and on others, he's not?
August 24th, 2009 at 12:06 AM ^
I noticed that too. Anyone know why?
I have this picture of DG running to the sidelines changing jerseys all night... very strange.
August 24th, 2009 at 12:06 PM ^
It was a 4 team scrimmage, and I think the coaches can decided between themselves if they want the QBs to be no contact or not.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:39 PM ^
Inkster, Harrison, _________________ & _____________________.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:41 PM ^
L'Anse Creuse, and Birmingham Brother Rice.
I talk about some of the action in my Diary post above.
http://mgoblog.com/diaries/road-some-hs-state-scrimmage-notesinkster-ol…
August 24th, 2009 at 12:08 AM ^
Are these teams they are playing really good? The team with orange helmets all looked like junior high kids compared to them! He looks great either way he really is a man among boys. Go Blue!
August 24th, 2009 at 12:12 AM ^
Orange helmets are worn by Brother Rice. The yellow one by Harrison and the gold ones by L'Anse Creuse.
Brother Rice is a really talented team. They may lack some size on defense, but they've got some really nice players on both sides of the ball. Very talented team on the whole.
Inkster smashed L'anse Creuse, beat Brother Rice in a close game, and lost to FH Harrison. Harrison was much more aggressive defensively than anyone expected.
Its widely considered that Brother Rice is one of the better teams in the state. They have a hard schedule, but they should be able to win quite a few games this year. Similarly, FH Harrison is a playoff team.
L'anse Creuse was over their head at this level.
August 24th, 2009 at 12:31 AM ^
Brother Rice (orange helmets) have won a few state titles recently I believe.
Harrison is the winningest team in michigan, or maybe winning percentage?
Harrison is where Drew Stanton went.
August 24th, 2009 at 11:46 AM ^
Brother Rice hasn't won one in a few years. I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure they didn't win one last year.
August 24th, 2009 at 3:50 PM ^
Muskegon has both the best winning percentage and most wins I believe. They were also ESPN's "best program in the state".
August 24th, 2009 at 12:48 AM ^
Thanks c0ke.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:42 PM ^
What impact will Gardner's kicking ability have on our chances to land Hagerup? Thanks I'll hang up and listen.
August 23rd, 2009 at 11:48 PM ^
Why waste a schollie on Paul Hagerup when we got Gardner already coming in?
Back to serious...It may be that the clip selection was very nice (I would like to see some incompletions for comparisons sake), but I liked what I saw there with checking through his receivers while keeping good pocket presence. With all the speed we'll have around that's what we really need is a QB that can give our WRs that extra second or two in order to allow them to destroy whomever is covering them and get open. The downfield pass at the beginning showed some great touch.
August 24th, 2009 at 12:12 AM ^
punted for Scripps Ranch his junior and senior years.... :D
August 24th, 2009 at 12:17 AM ^
Wow. Unadulteratedly premature and not-so-substantive allusion to a guy I never saw play: Tom Harmon?
August 24th, 2009 at 12:41 AM ^
okay, okay. I will admit this is ridiculous and foolish...but given the uniform design and color scheme its making me think of VY. Given that he completely Danza'd the NCAA his last two years at Texas..I'm okay with that.
August 24th, 2009 at 12:48 AM ^
I think if both coaches agree at the start of the scrimmage they can do no contact on the QB in the pocket. The refs at my brother's scrimmage did this last week. The refs just blew the whistle early when the D approached the QB.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:04 AM ^
by any stretch of the imagination, but it looked to me like Gardner's mechanics still need quite a bit of work. Seems to me as though he was throwing mostly with his arm (obviously!) and not throwing off his back foot and using his legs/hip to generate power. Still way better than last year though.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:37 AM ^
still in HS and i'd say most HS seniors need mechanical work. they can't all be tate.
August 24th, 2009 at 1:57 AM ^
he really looks like vince young in that uniform. strong arm too!
August 24th, 2009 at 9:04 AM ^
It's amazing how much better his mechanics have gotten. They still need work obvoiusly but it looks much better from last year.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:14 AM ^
Thanks for the post. Who is the WR/TE #88? He is a manchild.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:20 AM ^
Quarterback, Kicker, good enough feet and hands to be RB and WR.
Old '98, remix?