Big Ten 2010 // What to Know About the Michigan QB Battle
by GregGoBlue on Mar 23, 2010 12:00 AM CDT
in Michigan
Email
PrintIt goes without saying that the 2010 season is make-or-break for Rich Rodriguez and his zone-read spread-n-shred offense. Though good QB play is essential for any offense, the success of Rich Rodriguez's offense in particular requires a QB who can be a viable running threat in order to create the numbers mismatch that is the central concept of the option offense. Without a QB who can do that, well... see Michigan offense circa 2008.
What will make this spring a particularly intriguing one is the battle at the QB position between three young candidates. Will it be the incumbent Lindsay-Lohan body double sophomore Tate Forcier; the dynamic rocket-powered, human turnover (née Denard Robinson); or highly-touted prototype RR QB incoming freshman Devin Gardner? Here's the skinny on each:
Tate Forcier (sophomore):
Best thing about freshmen? They become sophomores. Having started at QB all of 2009 as a true freshman, Forcier enters the QB battle this spring as the player with the most game experience. Forcier is a very polished passer, having been schooled on the position since the womb by controversial QB coach Marv Marinovich. After starting last season 4-0, including leading a dynamic comeback win over then-ranked Notre Dame, Forcier was plagued by a nagging shoulder injury--how significantly limiting this injury actually was to Forcier is just now coming to light--accompanied by the perfect accoutrement of the inevitable slew of freshman QB mistakes (including not securing the ball, see above).
Forcier's greatest limitation is that, though perfectly suited for a Texas or Oklahoma State-style pass-happy spread, he's not an RR-type spread QB. Standing at 5'11 (ish), 175 lbs (ish), it became clear last season that Forcier is not built to withstand the punishment that a QB in the RR system must incur as a viable running threat. Opposing linebackers were licking their chops at a chance to dust a guy who is the most important player on the team and, physically, closely resembles Elijah Wood. Despite his physical limitations, though, Forcier is a remarkable passer (though his arm strength on his deep balls is not the best) with adequate wiggle and an iron will to win. He's got the elusive "it" factor, where in a late-game situation with the clock running down, you want the ball in his hands (minus the Iowa game, for some reason). Tate has gone through the freshman growing pains already, and has had almost a full year (he enrolled last January) of instruction, film study and quality time with cult-favorite strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis. Rumored to be up to roughly 200 lbs entering spring ball, can Tate stay healthy and fend off his more athletically gifted contenders?
Denard Robinson (sophomore):
About Denard Robinson, one thing is certain: he is fast. Having run the 100 meter in 10.44 in high school (2nd fastest time in the nation, friends), the expectations were high for Robinson in an offense that puts speed as a premium... right behind speed and more speed. Unlike Forcier, Robinson's highly touted high school athletic career featured him as an athlete who played quarterback--he was highly recruited as a CB--instead of a quarterback-geared athlete. As a result, Robinson had received only basic training in the finer points of quarterbacking. Also unlike Forcier, Robinson did not enroll in the spring and thus did not benefit from the same familiarity and instruction with both the offense and college lifestyle. Denard Robinson electrified fans on his first play at QB in the season opener against the vaunted Western Michigan with this TD run off a broken play. Dude is so fast.
As the season wore on, though, the honeymoon was over rather quickly. His lack of familiarity with the offense, as well as lack of basic QB skills (such as QB-RB exchange, reading defenses, etc...) restricted Denard's playbook to one play: Run Denard, Run! Heck, even my mom knew what play Michigan was going to run when Denard was behind center. And she's got significantly less experience reading offenses than opposing D Coordinators. In addition, Robinson demonstrated a frustrating propensity for putting the ball on the ground when he wasn't throwing it to the other team. You had to feel for this kid, as he clearly wasn't ready to play QB last year.
This year, however, is a different story. Having had a summer, a season, and an offseason of instruction, reps and offensive drills (plus he ran track for U of M!), this is where it gets interesting. He certainly possesses the dynamic big-play running ability that RR covets so much in his QB's, but will Robinson have progressed enough in the offseason in the other necessary QB skills to effectively run the offense? This is where we'll see if D. Robinson is really cut out to be a QB, or if he's better suited for an all-purpose-back type of position, where he made several appearances late last year, now that the Wolverines have suitable depth at QB.
Devin Gardner (freshman):
As the #1 dual threat QB in the nation, Devin Gardner is exactly the type of QB that Rich Rodriguez needs to make his offense deadly. At 6'4, 215lbs, Gardner is an imposing physical specimen. Though decidedly raw as a passer, Gardner has shown great will to improve. Not only did he attend numerous passing camps last summer including the prestigious Elite 11 camp, but he garnered top overall QB honors at the camp by a number of analysts. Gardner is quite the athlete as well. Not only is his rushing ability ideal for a Rich Rodriguez offense, but just for funsies Gardner took some reps at WR in some of the drills at a passing camp last summer and pulled off some spectacular catches (including the one at 1:30 in this video).
Ideally, Devin Gardner would redshirt to have a year to become familiar with the offensive system before seeing the field. However, with Rich Rodriguez's future at Michigan hinging almost entirely on this season's performance, will the prospect of Devin Gardner's potential be too tantalizing to keep in the cellar and outweigh the prospect of another woeful year of having a freshman QB? Gardner is already on campus, having enrolled at Michigan in January, and will don the maize n blue shortly for spring practice. Will Devin Gardner pick up the offense fast enough to surpass the sophomores?
My Opinion:
This Season: Tate starts, Denard takes reps at RB/Slot as well as serving as the backup, Gardner sees the field sporadically against weaker opponents.
Long term: assuming RR keeps his job, Devin and Tate split time, Denard is moved to a skill position where he belongs.
This Week in Michigan Football...
MONDAY: Spring Field Guide
TUESDAY: Michigan QB Controversy
WEDNESDAY: Mike Barwis
THURSDAY: MVP Profile - David Molk
FRIDAY: Keeping the Enemy Close - A Buckeye's Thoughts
47 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Tate Forcier
aka Silly Goose.
and Denard Robinson aka “I can’t tie my shoes, giving me a sweet nickname, right?”
I’m sure we will have SOMETHING for the frosh by the end of the season. ;)
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 23, 2010 5:37 AM CDT reply actions
wow
you’re going THERE after the whole Terrelle Pryor, aka “everybody murders” thing??? ;)
Whew
Thank goodness there’s another Michigan fan on this blog. I was beginning to think I was the only one around here who had to remind these Ohioans of how the world actually is.
Yeah, that's pretty ironic coming from a wolverine.
Granted, I don't know what down it is..
You would know.
Wouldn’t ya? ;P
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 23, 2010 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions
I don't agree
Only because I worry about Forcier getting hurt. In my perfect world, Forcier wins a couple early, get’s hurt and then Gardner makes a triumphant, mid-season entry and shows his all-world capability in the Spread.
by Graham Filler on Mar 23, 2010 9:28 AM CDT up reply actions
In a perfect world, you redshirt Gardner. This is not a perfect world. He is super raw, so he’s going to make lots of mistakes (as has been reported in practice). Hopefully he’ll pick up the system quickly (quicker than Denard… didn’t), and he’ll get by on athleticism against weaker opponents.
If you had put TP in the spread his freshman year, and just let him rely on his athleticism, I think it would have been much less painful for everybody. TP is simply deadly running the spread option. I don’t know why Tressel doesn’t let him run it more. In the three or four spread plays TP ran against us, he just ate up yardage basically every time.
by GregGoBlue on Mar 23, 2010 11:31 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
This is a tough one, I’d tend to agree with grahamfiller. I just think that Forcier does a ‘McGuffy’; fragile body gets crumpled in Big 10 play, he moves on. It would make some sense to RS Gardner, but actual ‘game time’ is pretty darn valuable for a young, talented kid.
Granted, I don't know what down it is..
agree that if RR had job security through 2012, DG is a red-shirt hands down. but he’ll see action the same way drob saw it last year. as much as i’d like to see drob move to a skill position full-time ASAP (pending DG’s development), richrod can’t have enough quarterbacks esp. how injury prone tate is and even drob if he gets a nasty hit.
i see DG really competing for time after this year with tate and drob not moving to a skill position full-time until halfway through 2011 (not even the start of it). again, this is assuming we make a bowl and RR keeps his job.
yes
Because Michigan blogs love spending an entire week profiling Indiana (see: last week on this blog)
Not surprising. They have to profile someone they can beat.
Granted, I don't know what down it is..
by KenK on Mar 23, 2010 12:10 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
+1
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 23, 2010 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions
+2
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 23, 2010 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions
Michigan's QB situation presents some interesting opportunities
They have 3 quarterbacks all roughly in the mold of the RR-prototype quarterback with slight variations (Forcier’s the best passer but tiny and less athletic, Denard is fast as hell but is less of a passer, and Gardner supposedly has both athleticism and passing ability but will only be a freshman). They also seem to be the most talented and dynamic players on the offense, so the question is how to utilize all of them. I agree that Denard works better as an all-purpose back than a pure quarterback. What I disagree with is how football always seems to use these types of people. Everyone and their grandmother runs a Wildcat formation with an athletic, semi-capable passer. We get it, you’re almost certainly going to run it to the strong side with a tiny, tiny chance of a pass. It isn’t new and innovative anymore and DC’s know how to stop it.
Take these three spread QBs and put them all in the backfield; Forcier flanked by Denard and Gardner. Have the snap go to any of the three depending on the play. You could run the zone read to either side with the third QB as a pitch man for whoever ends up with the ball. Throw a screen to one of them with the option to throw again downfield or run. Have one or two of them run receiving routes from the backfield or motioned out as a receiver.
Crazy? Most definitely. Extremely impractical for RR to develop an entirely new offensive system based on elaborate misdirection on almost every play, and then teach it to two sophmores and a freshman? Again, yes, but if they get it anywhere close to being executed correctly it would have opposing DC’s tearing out their hair in frustration. Back that up with even a semblance of a defense and you have a recipe for a Cinderella run for a Big Ten title (possibly even the national championship game depending on the whims of our BCS overlords) on the back of the sexy new Chimera (bizarre three-headed monster, appropriately descriptive plus it sounds cool) offense with RR being hailed as an unparalleled offensive mastermind.
For any of you who made it this far: Hi, I’m Batman42, a Northwestern undergrad looking to pass the cruel football-less offseason by posting the occasional longwinded rant on this fine blog.
I think that longwinded rants are very acceptable, if not expected.
Not a bad scenarion, that you’ve laid out, but unless Robinson learns how to throw a football, he is not a passing threat. I’m sure that scenario will piss-off a few RB’s but that’s the way it goes, I guess.
Granted, I don't know what down it is..
Also not a bad scenario
if it weren’t for the fact that RR does not really tweak his offense to suit his personnel. See the Michigan offense circa 2008 with Stephen Threet (aka LEAST spread-like QB…), where he refused to acknowledge that Threet has all the agility of a wounded water buffalo. I think if John Navarre were QB, he’s still try and run the spread.
RR is not an “offensive mastermind” by any stretch of the imagination. If he were, he’d have a more elaborate passing system to feature the strengths of Tate Forcier, as well as incorporate two of the best athletes we have on the team: our TE’s Kevin Koger and Martell Webb. Instead, we see Tate Forcier running the ball on a regular basis (when Colt McCoy almost never gets hit… they both run a “version” of the spread), and we see Koger and Webb getting one, maybe 2 catches a game. We also see Denard Robinson running one play. One.
RR runs a simple offense, and just waits it out until his prototype player comes down the line. That’s why Devin Gardner will get PT, and that’s why Devin Gardner is the future. Lucky for us, his type of players are now in the system: RS Freshman slot receiver Jeremy Gallon is a perfect example. You’ll see him this year, guaranteed. It just took us three years to get to this point, and the D is still in shambles.
Of course, in RR’s defense, if you want to run your system, you must teach the current players your system. You can’t be running around willy nilly installing new systems on a whim; you have to drill. I’m just saying that some innovation would be nice to see… Even Lloyd Carr ditched the pro style and ran the spread for his last game against Florida and completely stunned them.
I certainly didn’t mean to suggest that he is an offensive mastermind, merely that to pull a 3 QB scheme off you would kinda have to be one.
Also, I didn’t know Michigan even had tight ends.
by Batman42 on Mar 23, 2010 2:19 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Denard Robinson is a joke of a player
..and I dont just say that because I loathe everything Blue and Piss either. Kid is hot garbage on an August day at the dump. OMG! He doesn’t tie his shoes!!!!! Lets give this kid some press!!!
Out of Hound since 2008
That's what I was trying to say.
My cousin is 2 and can’t tie his shoes, does that make him a back up QB for Michigan? Oh, wait, yeah, it does.
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 23, 2010 4:36 PM CDT up reply actions
sitting down, it's a lot easier
getting it in the bowl in the middle of the night when you’re barely half awake. just sayin’… =P
by georgiablue on Mar 24, 2010 10:04 AM CDT up reply actions
yea?
i’m sorry — that’s what you were “trying to say”? like “kid is hot garbage on an august day at the dump” was the complicated argument you were trying to formulate, but couldn’t come up with yourself? you’re so clever with your cousin reference.
how can you criticize a player that was a true freshman last year, underdeveloped at the most complicated position, and pulled in-and-out of games sporadically? if you don’t think his speed is electric, you’re lying to yourself. if you hate the shoelace talk, get over it; broadcasters need something to talk about to fill some air time with side stories that aren’t relevant. i agree, i could care less about his shoes but you should hold your judgment on drob before he puts up 150+ all-purpose yards on the buckeyes in a few years.
You can’t reason with these animals, I’ve tried.
BuckeyeSki and Ian_InsideTheShoe should be very familiar with dumps anyway. They are from Ohio after all. Don’t even get me started on how familiar they are with their cousins….
Sorry Canada.
Who do you think we are? Tennesee?
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 24, 2010 5:47 AM CDT up reply actions
i usually equate incest
with mississippi, but ohio works just as well
Your right
They do need something to talk about on the side with stories, because HE’S NOT GOOD. Sure, he’s fast, but that alone can’t win games. As for throwing, you must be out of your mind to say he can even do that.
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 24, 2010 5:46 AM CDT up reply actions
that’s funny cuz every time i hear myron rolle from florida state, they talk about rhodes scholarships and him going to oxford. relevant to his performance on the field? not really. side story affiliated with a good player? yes.
truth is every player — whether good or not good in your own opinion — has side stories to fill in the gaps on air. the mere fact that they cut to a side story, like drob’s shoelaces, isn’t a predictive indicator that the player sucks and they just can’t find anything else to talk about the kid.
unless of course, you think myron rolle sucks.
150+ all-purpose yards
THAT’S IT? You need more yards than THAT to beat Ohio State.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Mar 24, 2010 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions
not really… woodson had 137 all-purpose yards and he seemed to do just fine against the buckeyes in ’97.
150+ all-purpose yards for 1 player is pretty legit. not that drob will be returning kicks/punts, but switching him around at qb, rb, and slot for an entire game for 150+ all-purpose yards as 1 player’s contribution is not bad in my book. i’d consider that a pretty good performance from a player previously called a “joke” by buckeye fans.
Drob as you call him, I still see him as hot garbage...
MIGHT be a good player at the JUCO level, but this kid couldn’t be a passing threat in the MAC conference, let alone the B11. Nothing else needs to be said as this is fact…
Out of Hound since 2008
nobody said...
that drob is a top-rated passer as of today. i’m defending him as an overall player and his potential contribution to the offense in other ways via speed. he’s was a 4-star and part of rivals final top 250, so i’m pretty sure any top program in the country would love to have him part of their offense.
as a true-freshman starting qb? probably not, but that’s what michigan had to work with given their depth. i agree he’s underdeveloped at the qb position, but it’s not like richrod has pinned him as our go-to-guy and we’re banking on him for the next 3 years.
i don’t think any michigan fan would argue drob is a passing threat in any situation right now. he completed more passes to the other team last year. all i’m saying is hold judgement on a kid who was thrown out there as a true-freshman in the worst possible scenarios. it doesn’t automatically make him a “garbage player” that “might be good at the JUCO level”.
Haha
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 24, 2010 5:10 PM CDT up reply actions
I find it hilarious
that Ohio State fans are bashing this kid because he can’t throw.
It’s not like they’ve ever had a QB who was known more for his running ability than his ability to throw arm punt.
He may never develop, time will tell. Right now you’re just demonstrating why many of us don’t like Ohio State fans.
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on Mar 24, 2010 6:44 PM CDT up reply actions
I think Doug Worthington and Kurt Coleman would disagree with that.
Because as much as Ohio State’s offense was able to do against the Ducks, it was Ohio State’s murderous D that got the job done.
Besides, I can watch Pryor throw a beautiful pass to a Purdue DB over, and over, and over, and over, and over again…
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Mar 26, 2010 6:22 PM CDT up reply actions
I know.
He was targeting Pryor, so I answered back with Pryor. The defense was phenomenal, and without them, Oregon probably would have won.
Visit Inside The Shoe
The Buckeye blog for every fan!
by Ian_InsideTheShoe on Mar 27, 2010 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions
You've missed the point
Pryor has progressed. While he is not, and shouldn’t ever be, a drop back passer, he is better than he was, his form is better, and his knowledge of the game is better. He is now a dangerous QB, as opposed to a dangerous player who was heaving the ball around.
To render a final verdict on a player after their first couple of years is unfair. Again, he may not progress, but that’s on the coaches as much as it is him.
It never gets to be easy
by chitownhawkeye on Mar 29, 2010 5:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Woodson was a DB.
And 150+ total all purpose yards is how Ohio State wins. They FEAST off of stats like that.
by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Mar 26, 2010 6:23 PM CDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
