Devin still might be able to EE!!!!!!!
"Ten minutes ago Michigan received a fax that Devin has completed his high school requirements," Inkster coach Will McMichael told us. "He has to get through [Michigan's] admissions, but there's still a possibility [for early enrollment]."
Now, Michigan's admissions and the NCAA had previously cleared Gardner for early enrollment, but Inkster High had not graduated him. Now that they are graduating him, can Michigan still get him into classes? The answer is that there is still a shot of that happening... but a final answer on that may not come until later this weekend. We'll let you know as soon as we know.
LINK is behind paywall
January 15th, 2010 at 5:44 PM ^
need to get denard on the field somehow, someway
January 15th, 2010 at 6:06 PM ^
Allen Trieu of Scout posted an interview with an Inkster teacher. Basically the teacher said that the school felt that they couldnt hold Devin back and that he is such a good kid. The board held a special meeting and approved his graduation. The ball is now in M's court.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:49 PM ^
I'm disturbed knowing that males can get excited over pretty much anything - a young man enrolling in college early, for instance, or bathroom tile. And I'm sure I don't even know the half of it. This blog keeps me on my toes, for sure.
edit - see some of the last entries or this will make no sense.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:51 PM ^
Sorry, did you want to take a trip to bed, bath, and beyond so you can get excited too?
January 15th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^
Stay away from that Beyond section...
January 15th, 2010 at 7:06 PM ^
Behold the boundlessly limited female worldview...
January 15th, 2010 at 8:14 PM ^
Thanks you, because I am now going to very boring party, and I will have the memory of this thread to get me through.
January 15th, 2010 at 7:15 PM ^
I lovingly caressed it, stared at it, wet my finger and rubbed it, and then spent half the freaking summer installing it on my kitchen counter.
January 15th, 2010 at 7:19 PM ^
You are a real boner sinker...
January 15th, 2010 at 10:55 PM ^
Sitting, or standing?
January 15th, 2010 at 6:50 PM ^
And here I thought the "EE!!!!!!!" thing had something to do with Barwis.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:51 PM ^
Devin is a great kid and it's going to be great to see him on campus....Fall can't come soon enough
January 15th, 2010 at 7:54 PM ^
I really wish we had some defensive recruits enrolling early. Specifically CC, MRob, and to be greedy another safety. C'est la vie.
January 15th, 2010 at 7:00 PM ^
to get here early to be able to begin absorbing the play book, get into Barwis shape, and start getting some reps. If that can happen then I do believe he will get at least some playing time this fall and can help the team..
January 15th, 2010 at 7:21 PM ^
If Gardner plays, that means that Tate and/or Denard have faltered horribly or have gotten injured. If they stay healthy and progress the way that is normal for sophomore QBs, Devin Gardner will redshirt, get Barwisized, learn the playbook, improve his mechanics, and mature. That's the best possible thing for him and for the team. The last thing RR needs is having to start a pure freshman QB for the third year in a row. And if Gardner isn't starting, it would be absolutely crazy to burn his redshirt simply for mop-up duty in blowouts. Let's all be patient and look toward 2011-2014 for Devin.
January 15th, 2010 at 7:34 PM ^
Based on what little tape I have seen of him, I am inclined to agree with you. He looks raw.
What we do not know, at this point, is his learning curve. If he can learn the offense and outplay Forcier and Denard, he should play.
January 15th, 2010 at 7:46 PM ^
The rational observer in me knows that he could really use a year on the bench, and that a year at the back end of his college career would be much more valuable...
But then I watch this:
And the irrational fan in me reeeeeeally wants to see him on the field...
January 15th, 2010 at 8:43 PM ^
The one thing that makes that position a little less irrational is that DG has experience running the zone read already, which is something that Tate didn't have much of before he came. As much as Tate is clearly a better passer, I really wonder how much better Tate will be by the start of the season at making those reads, because let's be honest here for a minute, Tate had A LOT of missed reads on the zone read this year. Basically one of those learning curve type things where since DG has experience in it already he'll pick it up faster.
January 15th, 2010 at 10:59 PM ^
Tate ran a zone read in HS.
January 16th, 2010 at 1:16 AM ^
I was under the impression that Tate ran some zone read plays in HS in an offense that was much more spread pass oriented, whereas DG ran offense that is much more similar to what we currently run. My recollection on that could be wrong though. I apologize if it is.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:39 PM ^
The best player should play, of course.
But, if Tate is not the best player, I'll be disappointed in his lack of improvement. He was light years ahead of DR last year, and from what I've seen, way ahead of DG too.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:37 PM ^
You win...+1 for you.
This is the absolute truth. We should all be hoping for Tate to take a huge step forward. Our offense was borderline explosive last year, and a reasonable improvement is expected. Tate did OK when he was injured. If he gets better, we'll be great.
I am very pumped for Devin, but I'm most excited for him to redshirt, absorb the offense, and Barwiscize (did anyone claim that term, yet?) In 2011 and 2012 he'll play regular snaps and claim a real piece of our NC.
January 15th, 2010 at 9:25 PM ^
"Devin Gardner will redshirt"
This memo hasn't reached UM's coaches.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:05 AM ^
he will push hard for the starting position? Not being combative, just curious. I know in the past you were higher on him than most.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:15 AM ^
I've never said or thought that he'd beat out Tate and Denard for the starting position. But he brings a physical presence to the table that neither Tate nor Denard can.
I don't have a crystal ball, so who knows what will happen in the spring, summer and fall, but I know for a fact that the UM coaches recruited Devin with the thought of him playing next season. If he gets in early, the chances of that happening only increase.
January 16th, 2010 at 3:12 AM ^
will get up to 215 in the fall while under barwis then next year 227 so I see him being a monster in the goaline situations like jeremiah mosoli
January 15th, 2010 at 8:22 PM ^
Since he is coming in so late he will get stuck with a nose picker roomate that no one can live with on North Campus.
January 15th, 2010 at 11:31 PM ^
are creating a hostile blog environment for nose-pickers.
Anyway, in the worst case, this will enhance DG's capacity for dealing with difficult people. (Since he has such a well-established work ethic, it won't matter that dreg roommates will make the film room look more inviting by comparison.)
January 15th, 2010 at 10:46 PM ^
Well this is just the cats pajamas.
January 15th, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^
the bee's knees.
January 16th, 2010 at 1:07 PM ^
to see him play spring ball. I know everyone was excited to see Tate play for the first time in the spring, and if DG comes he should be fun to watch. After that, we shouldn't see him on the field for a while. A redshirt should be in his future.