Has Michigan ever had a quarterback like Denard Robinson?

Submitted by ChicagoB1GRed on

Just wondering as a Nebraska fan who appreciates running quarterbacks if UM has ever had this kind of guy as a starter on past teams. My guess would be no, but who was the most similar? 

Saw both games, wow is he a great talent, huge upside as a sophomore.  He'll be breaking school records and winning lots of games for you the next three years.

Should be fun playing you guys the next few years, we have a freshman quarterback starting for us, Taylor Martinez, that has the same game as Denard. Looking forward to the games, Go Big Red!.

 

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TheLastHarbaugh

September 12th, 2010 at 11:52 AM ^

Yes, and no.

Jim Harbaugh and Rick Leach were tremendous scrambling quarterbacks (Not that Robinson is in that elite company yet), but Michigan has never had a QB with that kind of speed.

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bluebyyou

September 12th, 2010 at 11:55 AM ^

Not that I can remember.  Frankly, there aren't a whole lot of people with the talent level that Denard possesses.  Pat White is the closest QB I can remember with similar skills and he didn't play for Michigan. We have had other QB's with great scrambling ability but no one with Denard's all out speed.. 

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DaytonBlue

September 12th, 2010 at 11:54 AM ^

he's a great ball player, exciting to watch and already puttng up gaudy numbers.  It doens't mean anything, however, if it doesn't translate into big things - b10 titles, bcs bowl games, etc. - for Michigan.  It's all about the team.  Go Blue!

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moredamnsound

September 12th, 2010 at 12:36 PM ^

Did you see his interview after the game? Mostly it was thanking everyone else for blocking and doing their jobs so that he was able to do what he did. I don't think Denard needs any reminder that it's all about the team, he seems to have a good grasp on that.

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M-Wolverine

September 12th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^

A better one than Denard was in high school. Probably closer to Devin. He just wasn't going to play much QB in our old system. They were going to develop a whole package for him; he was that good. And who knows with our dearth of back-up QBs what might have happened. He certainly would have been a QB in Rich's system.

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jmblue

September 12th, 2010 at 6:32 PM ^

I think you're confusing Bass with Jermaine Gonzales, who was actually recruited to play QB here.  Gonzales put up huge numbers in HS and might have done well in RR's system.  In Carr's system he ended up being a square peg in a round hole. 

Bass played QB in high school, but was not a good passer (like 35%, IIRC) and everyone recruited him as an athlete.  (The same was true of Steve Breaston.)  Bass came here explicitly as a WR and that's what he played in 2005.  He was never going to be more than a wildcat option at QB, but might have been a great wideout.

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TIMMMAAY

September 12th, 2010 at 6:49 PM ^

Bass was a QB in high school, and no he didn't have a Forcier like completion percentage, but he would absolutely have been a QB in RR's system. I've had the same though many times, and I had the conversation with Bass's father as well. In Rodriguez's first year, the family believed that he would be able to return.

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jmblue

September 13th, 2010 at 12:51 AM ^

Are you dealing in hypotheticals or facts? If RR had been here when Bass was in high school, maybe he would've come here as a QB. But that's a hypothetical. The actual fact of the matter is that, with Lloyd Carr here, he came here to play WR. He is not a "former Michigan QB," which the OP was looking for.

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M-Wolverine

September 12th, 2010 at 6:53 PM ^

But he was better as a senior. He set school passing Touchdown records, and was the top rated player in the state, a Super-Prep All-American. Schools used the fact that Michigan wasn't going to use him as a QB to recruit against us, so there was interest in him as a QB.  Because they were right, he was never going to play regular QB for Lloyd.  But could have for Rich, if he had been healthy.  And they were designing a package for him to play QB, out of the wildcat.  He actually had more carries than he did catches at Michigan. His talent was going to force them to use him as an Athlete, not just a WR. He was more of a QB in High School than Breaston, and Denard, frankly. Gonzales got some token depth chart time at QB, and played for a better high school team, but never really was super athletic, and was switched to receiver too. (If you don't count trans-continential plays and the like).

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Beavis

September 12th, 2010 at 12:01 PM ^

I gotta say - gaining a lot of respect for Nebraska fans.  I feel like there are more on this board than any other schools in the (new) Big Ten, and they don't even play us in conference games yet. 

To answer your question - No.  Denard is special.  Like one day waking up and instead of looking down and seeing a six-incher, you've got a donkey dick.

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umhannon

September 12th, 2010 at 12:06 PM ^

First time I have read this comparison on this board or anywhere. Certainly hope it is not the last. You have made me forget my hangover for a glorious minute. Thank you.

"Like one day waking up and instead of looking down and seeing a six-incher, you've got a donkey dick."

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EGD

September 12th, 2010 at 12:05 PM ^

No Michigan QB that I've ever seen has had wheels like Denard.

Rick Leach was before my time.  Harbaugh could scramble a bit, but was primarily a passer.  Michael Taylor was more athletic than Harbaugh, but still not in the same league with Denard.  Demetrius Brown was too busy throwing interceptions to run the ball.  After that we had all drop-back passers until Lloyd retired.

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the_dude

September 12th, 2010 at 12:11 PM ^

Right now Denard looks Desmond good, he looks Charles Woodson good.  And here's the thing: he has the ball on every offensive possession.  So with that being the case the question should be whether Michigan has ever had a player as good as Denard - period.  I sure as hell am looking forward to seeing how the rest of this year plays out.

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NateVolk

September 12th, 2010 at 12:13 PM ^

Brandstatter was on Huge this week and he said that Smith was as fast or faster from the quarterback position.   That suprised me.  I remember Smith as being the quarterback in the late Anthony Carter era when I first started watching. He was real good on the option, but I don't remember him running like Denard. But I was 8 too.

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befuggled

September 12th, 2010 at 4:51 PM ^

I don't think he was as fast as Denard, but close. He didn't run as much, averaging just under 600 yards a year as starter. The most Denard-like moment I can remember was against Illinois in 1981, when he ran a quarterback draw for 40-45 yards for a touchdown right before the half.

As a passer, though, he never got beyond being adequate. He started out poorly, with turnovers and poor offensive play contributing to all three losses in his first year as starter (1981). He improved as time went by, but he was never a great passer.

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Bryan Fuller

September 12th, 2010 at 12:15 PM ^

It makes me laugh to think back to us trying to run this offense with Threet and Sheridan two years back. I guess it was important for RichRod to get people started right away getting ready for his system, but it is a joke to think that we tried to run this offense with those guys, especially now that we know what it is capable of.

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blueheron

September 12th, 2010 at 12:26 PM ^

In your post, there's a vague suggestion that the offensive scheme was the principal problem that year.  I certainly agree that Threet would've been better off impersonating John Navarre, but I think seasoning (above all) and talent level were the issues in '08.

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jmblue

September 13th, 2010 at 12:54 AM ^

This is the kind of lazy analysis that this site tries to dispel. What we ran two years ago was very different than what we're running with Denard. Threet and Sheridan only carried the ball once in a while. They certainly weren't the featured ballcarrier.

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Tater

September 12th, 2010 at 12:21 PM ^

But Michael Taylor was close.  Unfortunately, his hands were so small that he couldn't pass the football effectively.  He had a rocket arm from the outfield playing baseball for Michigan, but he couldn't grip a football well enough to get any "zing" on his passes.  Bo's offense didn't create the kind of spacing that this one does, and Taylor wasn't enough of a dual-threat, but he could run. 

When it comes to Denard, though, there is nobody like him.  He is a QB from the shoulders up and Jeff Demps from the waist down.  A talent like this comes around once in a lifetime.  It's even more rare when he is in an offense that fits his skills perfectly.

Hopefully, we get three full years of this.

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Ike Pond

September 12th, 2010 at 12:34 PM ^

Welcome to the Big Ten Chicago Red!  We had some great running QB's when Bo was coach -- Dennis Franklin, Rick Leach, Steve Smith, Mike Taylor and Demetrius Brown could all run the ball effectively.  We went to a more pro style offense over the next 18 years or so and as you probably know developed some great pro style QB's -- Elvis Grbac, Brian Griese, Tom Brady, John Navarre and Chad Henne all played or are playing professional football.  That said we have had nothing to compare with what we're seeing right now with Denard.  He's easily the fastest player I have ever seen (at any position) and what has really impressed me about him this season is his grasp of the offense and his passing ability.  The way I see it is we are looking at the combination of a great talent and a coach who understands how to use that talent for maximum results.  It will be fun to watch what happens over the next few years.   I'm looking forward to going to a game at Lincoln in a few years.  I'll have to start following your team a more closely this year to get ready for it.  Good luck this season!   

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elhead

September 12th, 2010 at 1:10 PM ^

Dennis Franklin, Rick Leach, Steve Smith, Michael Taylor all come to mind. Though the game is also really different.

The Bo Schembechler of the 70s-mid-80s would love what's going on with the Michigan running game today.

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markusr2007

September 12th, 2010 at 1:10 PM ^

and Rick Leach.

All had decent footspeed and some could throw the football better than others, but like Denard Robinson? 

No. Absolutely not.

Michigan football has not seen anything quite like DRob before at the quarterback spot.

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Gocannon16

September 12th, 2010 at 2:00 PM ^

I always thought coner looked like a runner, but was stereotyped as a rapper-student-athlete instead of an athlete-rapper-student, and therefore never really got the chance to showcase his speeeed

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Brodie

September 12th, 2010 at 2:30 PM ^

A lot of peeps here whose view of MICH football is limited to the past 20 years. Michigan essentially ran the option from 1969 to 1978 and infrequently thereafter until 1989. None were quite up to Denard's standards, but Rick Leach was generally considered one of the best QB's in the nation in his day.

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