Story of Shoelace

Thanks for ruining my morning.

"He wasnt the fastest guy on the team... that was his friend Adrian Witty"

But seriously, good read.

Thanks for that. I was quickly forgetting why I come to this sight. Go Blue

Thanks for the fun and positive story.   I needed that.

Shoelace has been one of the few positives on the season, his potential is unlimited

Just makes you love the kid even more.

I was disappointed because I was expecting an article about Denard's life to go like this: Born awesome, grew up awesome, and now living awesome.

But I guess if that was all they wrote for the story they probably wouldn't get paid.

I love this team and this kid.  Keep hope alive!

Kent Robinson takes a seat at the center of the makeshift amphitheatre. His shirt says it all. It reads: Armed and Dangerous, Shoelace.

“I designed that shirt and all the other ones here,” he says.

He points around to others beneath the tent a group, which now includes almost a dozen people. They’re all wearing t-shirts with some reference to Denard’s nickname back home:Shoelace.

Terrific.  So now the NCAA will be firing off a C&D letter to Denard's own family?! **

** Still bummed that I missed window to buy Shoelace shirt from MGoStore

It is a great story, I talked with him a bit after the MSU game and he really is a great kid. 

About Adrian Witty though...

God, I want that kid to go all the way.  Starting with a win Saturday.

That kid is something very special.  We're real lucky to have him.

Makes me appreciate Denard even more.

...sports feature by the Daily. They are on a real hot streak and I assume they'll be up for some major college journalism awards.  I found this passage fascinating:

But he was still hurting after that particular loss. He couldn’t shake that feeling — the pain of losing.

He told his dad what he was feeling and that he wanted to get better. So the two took the seat of a swing that they had found lying around, tied a thick rope to it and looped the rope around a tire. Thomas Sr. put the swing around his son’s waist. And Denard took off.

The young quarterback ran 40 yards and walked back. Then 40 more. And 40 after that. He ran 40 yards till his calves burned and his lungs ached and he couldn’t run anymore.

The traditional lore of QBs and their dads is that the dad puts up the tire and the kid throws the ball endlessly through it.  Not with DRob.  He runs with the tire tied to his waist.  And therein lies the difference between a successful drop back passer and a successful spread 'n' shred QB.

Awesome article!  This is exactly why I don't care what people say about him and his "passing abilities" or "being a real QB...an NFL QB..."  Because none of it matters.  What this young man has become is much more than any of that.  Last year (and probably year's prior) he was an icon, a legend for his community.  Now he's building that on a national stage.

Go, Shoelace. Go!

“He loved to run that ball,” Huggins says, looking over his old stomping grounds at Westside Park. “He’d tell me, ‘Coach, call quarterback sneak!’ I’d tell him no, to hand it off, and so he’d fake the handoff and keep it and run for a ton of yards.”

Maybe we'd get a ton of yards from it.  :-P

mind numbing Smith carries, he usually does.

What a great story. Thanks for sharing this.

Incredible Article. 

My favorite part:

The lessons in humility shine through in these conversations: Denard whispered the good news about being named Michigan’s quarterback, to protect the feelings of his teammates who were presumably within earshot.

This kid is awesome.

i have been looking forward to this in the daily since yesterday.  they've had some really good sports features lately.

He's FASTER when chasing somone? Can he go both ways?

What a great read, the Michigan Daily has come a loooooong way from when I was in school.

If anything, when watching games now, it will only intensify my desire to see him succeed on every play, not just for my school, but for himself and his family.

and if for nothing more than the sake of Denard, will keep RR so that Denard can have a chance at truly blowing away the college football scene.

Here's what my wife said when I forwarded her the article.  I understand the NCAA rules and all (so does she) but I wish I had thought of it first:

So my first reaction is that I want to send his mom and dad plane tickets to come watch their son play...seems unfair that I get to go to all these games when they are at home, going crazy watching him from across the country.  
What a great kid - hope he can rub off on some of the other players.

It is a reminder of what a special privilege we have in watching him.