The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Denard Robinson Is Looking To Soar In 2012 HIGH GEAR D QB BY JOHN BORTON enard Robinson served as Michigan's human highlight reel the past two seasons. He'll wind up as one of the most cel- ebrated Wolverines of all time, with numbers and anecdotes from slack-jawed admirers to back it up. He wants more than that. He wants to win, and win big. Certainly, 11-2, with victories over Notre Dame, Nebraska, Ohio State and Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, supplied a succulent taste of that victor's banquet. It's not enough, he assures. His mind can't help drifting back to the Michigan State and Iowa games. A tuck-and-run here, a better-timed pass there … Robinson tossed 15 interceptions in a junior season in which he also threw for 2,173 yards and ran for 1,176 more, with 36 combined touchdowns. That smallest number, among all the justifiably illumi- nated ones, garners his greatest focus these days. The pickoffs represent Shoelace Enemy No. 1. "That's the No. 1 focus, to get those 15 interceptions down under 10, or better," Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges assessed. "Take care of the football in the pocket, so we don't get the fumbles, or if you're not in the pocket, hang onto it just running the football. We run the quarterback a lot. Lowering the turnovers is at the top of my list." In 2011, Robinson threw for 2,173 yards and rushed for 1,176, and he notched 36 combined touchdowns on the ground and in the air, but he is focused on reducing his interceptions from last year's total of 15. PH0TO BY LON HORWEDEL Borges also wants to see Robinson's passing percentage rise, from 55.0 last year. The veteran coach often preached patience last season, having seen quarterbacks take huge jumps forward in the second year in his system. Several Dates Circled For 2012 Denard Robinson knows the drill. He's thoroughly focused on stem - ming the Crimson Tide, representing the next tsunami in Michigan's path. When Brady Hoke hollers, "Beat," Robinson will shout back "Ohio" as enthusiastically as anyone in the room. The senior quarterback hasn't ever lost to Alabama, though. His most recent memory of staring down the scarlet and gray isn't at all displeas- ing. He's 0-6 against Michigan State and Iowa, 0-4 as a starter. The Hawkeyes provided his most painful freshman memory, when he led Michigan to the brink of a stirring comeback at Kinnick Stadium, only to toss a crush- ing interception in the 30-28 loss. Mention two teams that the Wolverines would like to settle scores with, then say "Michigan State," and Robinson finishes the sentence himself: "and Iowa." He doesn't dwell too much on the latter, having beaten himself up enough over a key fumble and interception last season. Michigan State … well, that's another story. Robinson's 9-of-24 passing afternoon on a blustery day at Spartan Sta- dium still haunts him. On a day when the Wolverines were out-gained on the ground, 213-82, they still trailed by just a touchdown with less than five minutes to play. A successful drive could have sent the game to overtime. Instead, Rob- inson's ill-advised toss ended up in the hands of MSU's Isaiah Lewis, who raced back 39 yards for the game-clinching TD. "We didn't come out and play Michigan football," Robinson said. "There were a lot of throws I wish I could take back. There were four or five throws where I would over-stride. I did everything right, but when it came to the throw, I strode so that it sailed. "Everybody talked about the wind, but both of us were playing in the same conditions. Throwing off my back foot killed me. That's the inter - ception I threw at the end to lose the game." No one throw or one play lost that contest, most would agree, but Lewis' pick-six certainly ended Michigan's comeback dreams. The loss extended the Wolverines' losing streak to four against the Spartans, a skein about which both schools are all too aware. MSU even lost a player for the following week, while expending emo - tional energy on taking down the Wolverines. Defender William Gholston incurred a pair of personal fouls in the contest, including an attempt to use Robinson's helmet as a twist-off bottle cap amid a pile of players. Robinson won't engage in any plaintive palaver about the Spartans' half-dozen personal fouls, or Gholston's Big Ten-suspension-invoking pair, even though one of them twisted very close to home. "We didn't play Michigan football," Robinson reiterated. "We didn't play tough enough to beat those guys. That's one of the games I regret the most. I felt we could have played way, way better. "No excuses. You're on the football field, mano-y-mano. That's how I look at it. It's a physical game. I know it's a physical game. They know it's a physical game. I'm going out there wide open." He's not, however, going into the 2012 season focused solely on re - venge for U-M's rare slip-ups in 2011. "We've got to be ready for Alabama," Robinson stressed. "When we get to Michigan State … that's the rivalry. It's going to be a big game." "Big" doesn't seem like a big enough word. But it's clear Michigan's senior quarterback doesn't intend to address any of the Wolverines' chal- lenges in the season to come by talking about them. He wants to act. He knows all of the recent history and burns with the desire to change some of it. — John Borton THE WOLVERINE 2012 FOOTBALL PREVIEW s 91