Jacksonville Camp Battles: Running Backs
This video doesn't have anything groundbreaking, but any excuse for talkin' Denard is a good one.
TJ Yeldon seems likely to start and take a majority of carries, but with Gerhart looking like a better receiving option, Denard could definitely carve out a big role with Jacksonville this season. Last season he put up some of the biggest rushing totals in the league between Gerhart going down and his own injury.
There is a snippet in there confirming plans to get Shoelace involved on kickoffs.
No idea how to embed this so here's a ridiculously long link.
Denard Robinson was the most prolific offensive player to ever play at Stadium and Main.
The guy was on the cover of a video game....
Granted elite college fb players dont necessarily equal elite nfl players. But I will always be pulling for Denard Robinson to have continued success in whatever he does in his lifetime.
Desmond Howard was the most prolific offensive player at Michigan, not Denard. He won the Heisman, was unstoppable, put up incredible numbers for a WR and was a game changer. No offense to Denard, but Desmond Howard had a better career at Michigan. He won the highest award in CF and helped his team win big games.
A WR's impact is rarely more than a QB's, simply due to the differences in touches/plays that involve them.
Howard was amazing, but he also had strong WR play on other side, solid TE, and excellent OL/RB's throw is very good QB and only then does Howard really show off his abilities.
Denard had avg at best OL, decent RB, poor TE and average WRs (although mighty downfield blockers!). Speed wise Denard was faster and I'd wager much more agile, never saw Howard go from stopped position to lithium in his career- his best moves probably came on kick returns were he had more time to ramp up speed/make decisions.
Also, Howard never came close to setting the all time NCAA record at rec yards, Rec Td's, YAC, etc. Where Denard topped one of the all time impressive statistics rushing yards QB.
And not to nit pick, but the Heisman season for Howard, his statistics weren't even better than the WR on Washington Huskie, he just had bigger TV moments... Also Denard still would have caught that two point conversion attempt vs MSU- no I won't let it go...
Desmond made the big plays to win the big games
Denard was the biggest bright spot on the Michigan roster during my time in Ann Arbor, which was otherwise pretty dreary as far as football goes. I'm not going to bother checking my blatant homerism in support of Shoelace.
I might be writing him in on my presidential ballot once he turns 35...
They have a nice group of RBs on that team.
Given a spread offense run by a spread coach all 4 years of his time at UM, Denard may have been a top 4 choice on the Heisman JR/SR years. You cannot down grade the results he put up, in a system poorly constructed to utilize his abilities, run by coaches who fought against embracing the spread run even in the face of it's success.
The man set the all time NCAA record, at a statistic that had decades of super stars performing on teams 100% designed around them, think of the incredible options, wishbones, and wings of yesteryear- and then think about a guy stuck in a quasi-spread offense for two years under a coach that refused to embrace it and barely incorporated it correctly...
To say that Denard was anything but a QB super star for us is a bit unbelievable for any fan that follows the history of running QB's. Some may prefer drop back pocket QB style game play and want to downplay his skills/accomplishments- that's just clouding facts due to personal preferences.
Denard 100% belongs in any discussion of great UM Qb's, and it's fair game to compare his status among UM fans with Woodson, both were excellent at their positions and produced all time great accomplishments.
The thing that was fascinating about Denard is how polarized he was with regard to his skillset.
With speed and shiftiness of a 20 on a 10 scale, none of us in our lifetimes will see another Michigan QB possess the talent he possessed in these elements of his game. It was this extremely rare gift that made him stand out at times as the only Michigan player with otherworldy, exceptional talent during his years. It's what made him irresistable to watch, flaws and all.
In this way, I would say he is similar to Woodson. When you watched them play, you sensed that they possessed some talents that eclipsed those of anyone else on the field, where their star clearly shined brightest.
Denard however, had the misfortune of playing for two bumbling coaches in Hoke and Borges who called on him to move away from his god-given talent and, commencing with year 2, become a game manager. As a game manager who protected the ball, read coverage and avoided risky throws, no one would defend that he was a great QB. The debate might be as to whether he was even "good" at these elements of his QB play. That ND game where Denard had multiple picks and turn overs (like 5-6?) and we still only lost by less than a TD was by far the most infuriating example of Hoke and Borges misusing him. I had the displeasure of attending that shit game.
But for otherworldly speed, and his loyalty to the program amidst the transitional tumult around him and his bungling misuse by his coaches, and his just being such a damn likable guy, Denard should definitely be mentioned as one of the UM all time greats.
I had an ND fan talk about Brady Quinn a few years ago the same way we defend Denard. Both flashed short-ish stretches of brilliance which inevitably gets somewhat exposed. Both were charasmatic. ND wanted to believe that Quinn was Montana. We were ready to assume Denard was a morph of AC/Desmond/Woodson. We're realistic now about Denard, but I want him to succeed at whatever he does. I wonder if ND feels the same way about Brady Quinn.