NOTEBOOK: Denard Robinson excels on ground, shaky in air; Kevin Leach stands out
Courtney Ratkowiak
Daily Sports EditorSeptember 20th, 2009
Quarterback Denard Robinson’s blazing speed has already been well-documented and highly publicized. But after having almost four fewer months than fellow freshman quarterback Tate Forcier to learn the offensive playbook, Robinson’s passing game hasn't been in the spotlight.
“Denard always wants to prove he can throw the ball,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said after Saturday’s 45-17 win over Eastern Michigan. “He made a couple decisions today that maybe weren't the best, but he can make all the throws. As coaches, we have to remember he's only three games into his career.”
Robinson disagreed with Rodriguez’s assessment.
“I'm not trying to prove nothing,” Robinson said. “I'm not trying to prove to nobody, just myself.”
When Robinson tried to throw in this week’s game, the results weren’t pretty. He finished 0-for-4 with two interceptions Saturday, though his best pass was one that was negated. He currently has a -6.10 passer rating through three games.
The freshman came in at quarterback with Michigan up 24-10 late in the first half and lofted a beautiful 24-yard pass to wide receiver Martavious Odoms, who caught the ball before running out of bounds. But when the play was reviewed, Odoms was found to not have full possession of the ball and the catch was overturned.
Robinson tried again, this time throwing a pass about 35 yards down the field for Odoms. But Eastern Michigan defensive back Chris May leaped in front of Odoms for the interception, and the Eagles scored on the ensuing drive to bring the game within seven by halftime. His other interception came again at the hands of May with about four minutes left in the game.
“One of them was a misread, and one of them wasn’t,” quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said of the interceptions. “But like I said, that’s how you cut your teeth. He’s going to be fine, and we’ll keep working him and getting him ready.”
Robinson came to Michigan partially because it was one of the only schools that recruited him as a quarterback and planned to use him for more than just his speed. Following Forcier’s big game against Notre Dame last week, Rodriguez insisted that Robinson would continue to take snaps at quarterback and that the team has no plans to make him a slot receiver.
“Oh, yeah, yes. I'm a quarterback, I'm not just a running back,” said Robinson after Saturday’s game, when asked if he was prepared to throw 15 to 20 passes in a future game. “That's the only position I play.”
But Robinson looked like he could easily play the part of a star running back Saturday, with 60 yards and two touchdowns on just three carries. The scores came when the game was already out of reach, but Robinson ran the ball in the end zone both times in impressive fashion.
On a third-and-two on the Eastern Michigan 13-yard line, Robinson came into the game, kept the ball off the snap and shook off four separate Eastern Michigan tackle attempts en route to the goal line. His second touchdown was a display of pure speed as he zig-zagged through the Eagles defense for a 36-yard score.
Through three games, Robinson is the team leader in rushing touchdowns and second in rushing yards.
Leach surprises: Another week, another walk-on standout.
Last week, it was open tryouts walk-on Jordan Kovacs, who came in during the second half of the tight game against Notre Dame after safety Mike Williams was injured. This Saturday, walk-on linebacker Kevin Leach started for the Wolverines after linebacker Jonas Mouton was suspended for one game.
Mouton appeared to punch Notre Dame center Eric Olsen in the face during last Saturday's game. The act was a point of contention all week, with Rodriguez denying he had seen any wrongdoing during Wednesday’s press conference. Michigan linebackers coach Jay Hopson said during Thursday night’s radio show that the referee was right in front of the play and would have called it if there was an issue, but Big Ten officials announced Friday that the league was punishing Mouton for one game.
Leach said the Michigan coaching staff told him Thursday afternoon that he would get the start.
“I call him the second Kovacs because he came in and he didn’t lose a step just like (Kovacs) last week,” junior strong safety Troy Woolfolk said. “Actually, Kovacs came in again and did his thing. So we have two good second-string people who can play just like the first string.”
Though Leach played in six games last year, two of those at linebacker, this Saturday’s game was the first he played from start to finish.
Last season, he finished with just two assisted tackles. He quintupled his tackle total from last year in just one game Saturday, leading the team in tackles with 10 (three solo and seven assisted).
One of his notable tackles came on a third-down Eastern Michigan stop and another helped preserve the Michigan defense’s second-half shutout after Eastern Michigan had a first-and-goal in the fourth quarter with the Wolverines up 38-17. Leach and freshman Craig Roh stopped quarterback Andy Schmitt at the six-yard line, and the Eagles eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Michigan five-yard line.
Injury report: With right guard David Moosman already out against Eastern Michigan, the offensive line couldn’t afford to lose another starter.
That’s why Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez sounded so concerned during the post-game press conference when he said center David Molk may have suffered a serious foot injury.
Molk told coaches his foot was bothering him in the first half of Saturday’s game and left the game in the second half. If Molk can't play next week against Indiana, redshirt freshman Rocko Khoury or Moosman may take his place.
At running back, Carlos Brown got the start over senior Brandon Minor on Saturday. Minor had just three carries for 21 yards, all on the Wolverines’ first touchdown drive of the game. Minor has had a frustrating senior season so far – a nagging ankle injury also kept him out of the Western Michigan game.
“He tried to go a little bit, but after a few series he said, 'Coach, it's really sore.' So we said we'd hold him out of there,” Rodriguez said.
As he has all season, though, Minor discounted the idea of any possible injuries.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, when asked after the game if he is in good health.
Safety Mike Williams also left the game with an injury, and freshman quarterback Tate Forcier was momentarily stunned on the field after a play in the third quarter but played the next offensive series. Rodriguez said after the game that Forcier was bruised and had the wind knocked out of him.
Questionable call: After Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis whined about last week’s Big Ten officiating crew following his team’s 38-34 loss to the Wolverines, Rodriguez’s team was on the wrong side of a questionable call of its own this week.
With the score 3-0 Michigan in the first quarter, Eastern Michigan quarterback Andy Schmitt threw a 40-yard bomb intended for former Wolverine and current Eastern Michigan receiver Johnny Sears. On the play, Sears jumped over Cissoko and slashed him with his right arm, tripping up the sophomore cornerback. But the officials called a pass interference penalty on Cissoko, which moved the ball up 15 yards to the Michigan 29-yard line. The Eagles later scored their first field goal on the drive.
The Wolverines only finished with two flags, the other a five-yard false start penalty. But Rodriguez appeared to disagree with Cissoko’s call after the game.
“Is there a policy in the Big Ten?” Rodriguez asked, laughing, when questioned about the quality of the officiating. “I have to plead the fifth.
“One of them in particular, early in the game, I wasn't sure it was a penalty. I'll watch the film, but I don't know if the film can give me a better judgment than what I saw. … You all saw it. Everyone in the stadium saw it. I was standing right there.”
Printed from www.michigandaily.com on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:30:01 -0500