If You Could Add One Rodriguez/Hoke Player to This Team
Who would it be? Who would most improve this team? Brandon Graham was great, but we are loaded at that position. I don't think Denard, b/c not clear how he fits. I'd go for either Jake Ryan (big upgrade over big question marks) or Taylor Lewan, who is perhaps not as big an upgrade over who will play there, but certainly better and gives O-line better depth.
Discuss.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:03 PM ^
Devin Gardner
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:04 PM ^
Seconded.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:04 PM ^
A Devin Gardner that had been coached by Harbuagh for his entire career would have been something.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:08 PM ^
Legit Heisman candidate.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:28 PM ^
Most worthy of coaching and development.
August 23rd, 2016 at 10:15 PM ^
He had all the talent and heart but none of the coaching. He left everything on the field and didn't make excuses.
I wish him every success in life.
August 23rd, 2016 at 11:16 PM ^
In his senior season I had about had it with him for his turnovers, but watching him gut it out in that ohio state game cemented his status in michigan man lore for me.
August 23rd, 2016 at 11:59 PM ^
Not just as a fan of the football team, I really wish he could have taken that win home with him. He deserved it.
The emotional and psycholigical toll that he took must have been as great as the physical beating he took.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:04 PM ^
God, with Harbaugh coaching him and a vaguely competent line...
August 24th, 2016 at 7:48 AM ^
If Harbaugh was his coach he would've never saw the field as a QB. Too poor of decision making. He might be an NFL TE right now. Neg away.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:06 PM ^
Yep. Devin Gardner after years of Harbaugh coaching.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:34 PM ^
He would be in the NFL (IMHO)
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:06 PM ^
While I'd love him to be a freshman now under Harbaugh, even just one more year of eligibility for last season would have been amazing.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:20 PM ^
did Gardner burn a redshirt?
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:22 PM ^
Yes, but got it back via a medical redshirt.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:11 PM ^
And physically he had absolutely everything Harbaugh would want in a QB, I would worry that even with Harbaugh coaching him, it would be difficult for DG to grasp what is a very complex offense to read (route concepts are simpler than Borges but QB reads are therefore more important) and the need for a high level of accuracy and timing on short and intermediate passes; neither of those were areas where DG was the best.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:13 PM ^
Devin is a smart man if he had two years to learn the offense before starting he would have been fine. He graduated in 3 years.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:19 PM ^
And yet no NLF team seems to think there is a QB inside Devin Gardner.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:21 PM ^
Big difference between being successful in college and NFL.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:23 PM ^
Might be true or might be that no team wants to invest in him. Most teams only have room for 2 QBs. That's where a D-league would be extremely beneficial for NFL
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 23rd, 2016 at 7:09 PM ^
There was an NFL QB inside Gardner once. That QB was beaten, sacked, and terrorized out of him by opposing defenses who realized that our game plan was "Let's see who dies inside today"
August 23rd, 2016 at 7:52 PM ^
Ask David Carr what that can do to a career.
August 24th, 2016 at 10:02 AM ^
Hackenburg.
August 23rd, 2016 at 7:54 PM ^
fully agree.. he was a diferent player each game he got his ass kicked
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:17 PM ^
Joey Harrington and David Carr agree.
August 24th, 2016 at 1:04 AM ^
logged in just to say almost exactly what you posted. Gardner was a STUD before he got the living shit beat out of him almost every week without the coaching staff seeming to give a damn. Look what happened when he went out and our southpaw went in for a series.
The level of damage gardner took on the field is absolutely insane and i was getting pretty upset about it. He was also an amazing ambassator for the team and the school.
Look how long it took Denard to recover enough to get a shot in the NFL from all the nerve damage in his hand. They were both hung out to dry and were both excellent players.
One thing ole richrod had a nack for was finding hidden gems (though gardner didn't exactly fit the super-underrated-3-star mold that richrod seems to be good at.
Harbaugh coming in back then would have been amazing, even hoke was able to pull great recruits, just developed them at a middle-MAC-level. had a knack for turning 5 star talent into "not playing football as a career"
August 23rd, 2016 at 9:24 PM ^
No NFL team also thought JaMarcus Russell was a good QB. I was going to say Vince Young, but he did get a shot at least. I have a feeling Harbaugh would have turned DG into a draftable unbroken QB.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:55 PM ^
All that is very different then being able to process defenses quickly on a football field. I'm very proud of what he accomplished in his time at Michigan, but he would have had his challenges with certain aspects of Harbaugh's offense. People forget that even pre PTSD Borges highly simplified his offense to suit the fact that DG didn't have great vision and timing. All reads were pre snap half field 2 progression reads for the most part, which was outside the norm for Borges's offense.
Kaep is a decent comparison, but was a better pure runner and had a slightly stronger arm (Gardner had a quicker release and was probably set up to be more consistent underneath because of it). Harbaugh simplified the offense as well, but I don't think that's a sure thing for DG.
It's more than just the physical measureables, Morris is probably the best athlete with the best arm among the QBs on the roster right now and is 3rd on the depth chart due to accuracy issues and the fact that he processes things too slowly and he's had the advantage of Harbaugh as a coach. I loved DG as a player, but he was a flawed player even before his OL broke down, and some of those things Harbaugh may not been able to fix. Nothing against DG personally, he represented Michigan and sacrificed more for the football program than most.
August 23rd, 2016 at 7:30 PM ^
Hoke and Borges pre-judged him and Denard.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:11 PM ^
You make great points, but I disagree with one very relevant one - the comparison with Kaepernick, to me, is more than decent.
Kaepernick played in a mid-major pistol offense in college. Harbaugh turned him into an effective, dangerous NFL QB overnight.
Kaep isn't as bright as Gardner, nor apparently as studious. Yes, he's faster, and has a cannon for an arm - but wow he slings it all over the place. He's never been known for his field vision or decison-making either (unless tuck-it and run every time is deemed quick decision-making)
Sure, Kaepernick's a demoralized wreck now himself, but under JH he was dynamic. I firmly believe JH would have mitigated Gardner's flaws and maximized his potential.
Such a shame.
August 24th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
I'm confident Harbaugh could figure out how to use Gardner.
The games Gardner was on he was incredible.
The fact that they couldn't protect him/figure out ways to get the ball out of his hands quicker made me think Hoke/Borges should have been charged with some sort of crime.
August 24th, 2016 at 10:11 AM ^
Why is everyone so sure he will fix the exteremely turnover prone O'Korn then?
August 23rd, 2016 at 7:34 PM ^
with how a QB grasp the offense and how quickly they can read defense under pressure. Fitzpatrick is a Harvard grad and he sucks at reading defense.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:23 PM ^
This may sound stupid but I was thinking that DG reminded me of Kaepernick. Someone tall who isn't exactly a great thrower but someone who could run pretty well and fit into a unique system
August 23rd, 2016 at 7:03 PM ^
Truthful take.
August 23rd, 2016 at 11:52 PM ^
hasn't had a good quarterback that he personally developed as a QB Coach. With the schools he's been at, he's had some pretty damn impressive athletes and kids to deal with. Borges aint exactly a quarterback whisperer. You don't think Jim would've implemented spread offense into the gameplan to adjust for having such a great player? Look at what he did with Colin Kaepernick. That was a very pro style team with Alex Smith and he turned it into a team that ran a lot of spread concepts with Kaep.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:36 PM ^
End thread
August 24th, 2016 at 12:30 AM ^
No better comparison.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:03 PM ^
Jeremy Gallon.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:03 PM ^
Denard is the obvious choice. Imagine him and Peppers on the field at the same time.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:17 PM ^
Exactly. How is this even a question?
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:52 PM ^
I agree - Denard - no question.
August 23rd, 2016 at 6:56 PM ^
But why would we put our two best athletes on the field at the same time?
Yours,
Al
August 23rd, 2016 at 7:03 PM ^
Borges had DG and Denard on the field together a bunch and people complained about it, so I don't understand this joke.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:07 PM ^
Jesus Christ. Borges sucked. I remember you being one of the last "Just Didn't Execute" apologists.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:23 PM ^
It doesn't make the joke make sense unless it's along the lines of the "thanks Obama" jokes. People continue to make every complaint about the guy three years later including complaints that contradict each other. And yeah, execution still matters. I'm glad Michigan has the coaches in place now to teach the players the details they need in order to execute. I remember you being one of those people that joked about the importance of execution... I'd like to ask Harbaugh his feeling on the importance of execution.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:29 PM ^
He'd say important and then teach his players how to do it so they understand.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:35 PM ^
Which is why I constantly reiterated the importance of coaches coaching players how to execute. I repeated that constantly. People like you were to blinded with rage about "execution" that you refused to ever acknowledge that.
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:37 PM ^
*too
August 23rd, 2016 at 8:56 PM ^
Resorting to pointing out typos someone makes from a iphone. And double posting in the process because you were in such a hurry to try to one up when you had nothing else to contribute. You're wrong here as you were then. I'm done arguing it with as Borges is long gone, I just still don't approve of jokes that make no sense regarding him as I feel with any coach that coaches at UM.
By the way, it's amazing to me the number of people that bring up Borges sucked to me that talked up how great Michigan's offense was going to be under Nuss and then in proceeded to go to a top 50 offense to barely a top 100 offense and those people still point out how awful Borges was. Oh and Nuss isn't a terrible OC either, the problem as I pointed out at the time was almost blindingly obvious to be elsewhere. But yeah...