Per Rivals - Devin may still enroll early

He has no shot of starting if he doesn't enroll early you would think. I think his chances are pretty small even if he does but he at least has a shot. At the worst his presence really pushes Tate and they both get a lot better because of it.

If he can enroll early, I don't think he will overtake Forcier, but he might be able to make RR more comfortable with getting Denard on the field more in other positions to take advantage of his talent. I would really be excieted to see a package for Denard as an RB or slot with a lot of option passes thrown in. Putting two people in the backfield who can throw the ball at the same time would give RR a chance to do some more "pioneering."

It would be great to see RR influence the game in a major way not once but twice, especially if the second time happens in Ann Arbor.

Always a plus to get these recruits in a semester early and start learning the system. Optimally, however, would prefer Tate to start and Devin to take a redshirt in 2010. This would space them 2 years apart in class. Then I would say open up the starting QB position for competition in 2011, or at the very least go the Leach/Tebow route or Boeckman/Pryor like year.

If he enrolls early we get to see him in the spring game!!!

I'm starting to feel like this board is Devin Gardner's Twitter account.

"Devin Gardner might enroll early."

"Devin Gardner is still a solid commitment."

"Devin Gardner just took a giant Taco Bell poop."

I'm not sure why everyone wants to anoint Forcier with the starting job. He didn't exactly finish the season on the rise. Sure he can improve, but Gardener's style might be more conducive to starting as a freshman than Forcier's. If he can run the spread option, then I think we will see quite a bit of him next season.

Wait, back up. Michael White, Pioneer principal=Austin White's father? I knew he lived in Livonia, and had kids in high school there, but this never occurred to me. . .

Per Rich Rod, there will be open competition at the QB position. Tate should have an inside track but if Devin impresses enough, he could very well start at some point next year. He likely wont start from day 1 but by game 4/5 or so, the job could be his.

Devin is an extremely impressive physical specimen. Also very mature and he appears to be a very good decison maker. Standing 6'4" with the ability to both run and throw.... there is a reason why this guy is the #1 rated quarterback in the country. HE MAKES AN IMPRESSION. And he is a winner. I wouldn't put too much past the guy.... and would certainly caution against putting arbitrary limitations on what he can or can't do.

Anyway you look at it, having both of these guys to push each other can only be a good thing. Tate should get better with Gardner right on his heels. And if by chance Tate has his troubles, Gardner will likely be ready to take over. Its a win/win situation.

be awesome if he could

The first day of registration has passed, even for freshman. Students can still drop/add classes through the first week or so of January. Certainly the AD can pull some strings, but basically it is a little bit late to be thinking about enrolling for the winter term. There is also the complicating factor of meeting the graduation requirements of his high school. If his principal is just now investigating that, I would not bet on him enrolling early.

It would be great to get him in the system, working out with Barwis and learning the plays, but realistically his impact next season should be minimal and it's in his best interest to redshirt. If he plays a large roll as a freshman, then he is either realy damn good or this team is in really bad shape.

he never even got to touch the regular playbook last year. why is everyone so certain that once he has a year in the system he won't be able to pull off at least the basic variations on the zone read?

Most of us apparently think that Denard is so physically gifted that we should have him on the field as much as possible. But DR apparently envisions himself as a QB. If RR and the staff can convince Denard to take a chance on a position change at some point, that could be really exciting - for Denard and the team. But it wont happen unless and until there is are two viable and healthy QBs.

Does anyone know of any other programs that have turned QBs into running backs, or slots as sophomores? Was Percy Harvin a QB before he went all world at Florida? I remember Bert Emmanuel became a WR in the pros, but I think he played QB throughout his time at Rice.

Does anyone know of any other programs that have turned QBs into running backs, or slots as sophomores?

As college sophomores? Not off the top of my head.

But there are a a hell of a lot of high school QBs that become running backs, slots, tight ends, safeties etc. once they reach college. Jeremy Gallon was a single wing QB in HS.
The best athlete on the team is often used as the QB even if they can't pass themselves out of a wet paper bag.

Rodriguez promised Denard a shot at QB, so far he's kept his word.
Drob may eventually "see the light" and switch, or something catastrophic could happen and we'd need him under center immediately.

There was an article on Rivals where some of the outgoing players basically said, "He needs to be on the field as a playmaker, not necessarily a quarterback."