Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson certainly was very good for the Michigan Wolverines in 2011. He had 14 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, a 56.1 completion percentage and led the Wolverines to their first BCS bowl game since 2006.
For Robinson, these numbers are down from the ones he posted back in 2010 when he only had 11 interceptions, a 62.5 completion percentage and about 500 more rushing yards.
On the surface this may be somewhat concerning however with Robinson there are several factors you have to take into consideration. Robinson was playing with a staph infection at some points during the season and made a switch from Rich Rodriguez’s spread offense to a more pro-style that was implemented by Brady Hoke.
So if you look at things more objectively it would appear that Robinson actually did pretty well considering some pretty big circumstances.
But what does 2012 hold for the junior QB? You have to assume based on the way Robinson finished out the season that Hoke will continue to see him as the starting QB. With that said will Robinson continue to flourish and perhaps put up numbers that trend more into Robert Griffin III territory? ESPN’s KC Joyner takes a look at a potential break-out year for Robinson under the pro-style offense…
“First, he is similar to RG3 in that his superb rushing skills sometimes seem to overshadow his incredibly impressive passing abilities. Robinson was the only quarterback in this analysis to post six games in both the 150 or higher passer rating and 9-yard or higher YPA categories. This achievement is doubly notable when one considers that Robinson was battling a staph infection for at least a portion of the season. There were questions as to whether or not Robinson would be able to successfully adapt to the pro-style offense Brady Hoke brought to Michigan, but these numbers prove Robinson was more than up to the task.”
There’s no doubt that Robinson will continue to improve next season however one important factor is left out in all of this and that’s Michigan’s schedule for next season. Everyone must keep in mind that the Wolverines open up the season against Alabama in Dallas and have some other very difficult road matchups including Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State.
Robinson will not put up RG3 numbers but you can probably bet on him playing a lot better than originally thought in a pro set.
Ref: ESPN, MGoBlue.com, USA Today (image)
