Making the morning rounds.• Glad to have you aboard. The last we heard from the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year himself, Denard Robinson's official position on his future at Michigan under new head coach Brady Hoke was "no comment." But Hoke told a local radio and ESPN.com Thursday that he's spoken with Robinson and fully expects him to return as the Wolverines' starting quarterback in the fall.
He also assured fans that he won't try to "put a square peg in a round hole," and offensive coordinator Al Borges was clear in his first local interview that he's willing to adapt his "pro-style" philosophy to Robinson's threat as a runner: "I think the best thing when I talk to him is emphasizing that regardless of where I've been, it's not about me," Borges told the Detroit News. "The quarterback spearheads what we're going to do on offense. You've got Denard, who we're going to keep at quarterback, and we're going to wean our team into some of the pro-style concepts, but we're not going to lose what he's capable of. I'm not smart, but I'm not dumb enough to not know that. He's got a skill we're going to exploit." [Detroit Free Press, ESPN, Detroit News]
• May the Forcier get its act together and let us know, okay? Michigan may also get back its other quarterback, former starter and oft-utilized backup Tate Forcier, who didn't travel with the team to the Gator Bowl, isn't enrolled in classes this semester and was confirmed out of the fold by athletic director David Brandon during Hoke's introductory press conference on Wednesday. On Thursday, though, Forcier's father said he was coming to town to figure out how to get his son back in good standing: “I can tell you this, he didn’t fail his classes," Mike Forcier told TheWolverine.com. “I’m really not sure what’s going on. I just flew into Ann Arbor to figure everything out and see how we can get this whole thing resolved. But I’ll tell you this, Tate wants to stay. I didn’t come with a moving van. ... Tate wants to stay and we want him to stay." [The Wolverine.com]
• We have heard the people, and to them, we say, "Do you have a marketing degree? So shut up then." Also staying put in the Big Ten: The dreadful names for its new divisional format, the "Legends" and "Leaders" divisions, which received such overwhelmingly negative feedback after their introduction in December that commissioner Jim Delany was cowed into admitting the possibility of repeal. But the conference ran spots prominently featuring "Legends" and "Leaders" during the Rose Bowl, and assistant commissioner Scott Chipman told AOL FanHouse Thursday that the names are here to stay, at least for a while: "Short term there is no plan to change," Chipman said. "They will definitely be utilized for the 2011 football season. It would be impossible to measure their sustainability without using them as they were intended to be used." [AOL FanHouse]
• What, no other Fisch in the sea? Miami has hired Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch as its new offensive coordinator, sticking to the "pro-style" philosophy despite two years of diminishing returns under outgoing coordinator Mark Whipple – and despite Fisch's only experience as a coordinator, in 2009, when the Gophers finished dead last in the Big Ten in rushing, total and scoring offense. Otherwise, he's spent the rest of the last decade as an NFL position coach. [Associated Press]
• We hardly knew ye. Kentucky's all-purpose dynamo, Randall Cobb, is taking his versatile show to the NFL after just three seasons in Lexington, but what productive seasons they were: Cobb leaves with 4,674 all-purpose yards and 37 touchdowns to his name as a runner, receiver and return man, not including his occasional contributions as a quarterback. He easily led the SEC and finished second nationally as a junior in all-purpose yards per game, and was tabbed as an "all-purpose" All-American by at least three major services. [Lexington Herald Leader]
• Duron ron ron, de Duron ron. Wide receiver Duron Carter, son of former Ohio State/Minnesota Vikings great Cris Carter, won't return to OSU after missing the entire 2010 season as an academic casualty, according to his coach at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College. Carter contributed immediately as a true freshman and figured prominently in the Buckeyes' plans last fall, before falling by the wayside. Carter is at home with his family in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and his coach said Miami "is an option" for his services if he meets the grade. [Columbus Dispatch]
Quickly... Former Iowa running back Adam Wegher is transferring to Oklahoma. ... Mississippi State poaches Florida International's defensive coordinator, Geoff Collins. ... Sought-after Texas A&M defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter isn't going anywhere, for now. ... How Michigan is singlehandedly keeping San Diego State out of the red. ... Pat Fitzgerald is going to stay at Northwestern forever. ... David Shaw hopes he can stay at Stanford forever, too. ... Former Miami transfer Thearon Collier is out at USC. ... A stab at the subtle psychology of Boise's blue turf. ... And Auburn's BCS trophy tour begins today.
- -
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment