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*As a lifelong University of Michigan fan, I’m not kidding myself with visions of a perfect season or a BCS Bowl game. Not with this 2010 sieve of a Defense. And while last season Michigan was 4-0 before collapsing- this seems different. Exciting- definately! Magical- possibly(?) But before you tell me how crazy and presumptuous I’m being, please oblige me the chance to bask in the excitement and optimism that one very unique and unbelievably  talented athlete offers all Maize and Blue fans…….

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 In the world of College Football, there are so many unknowns at the beginning of each season. Which teams will exceed expectations and which will disappoint? Which players will step up and surprise by their play? Which player will captivate American sports fans with his dazzling performance? And….who will be the starting QB for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 2010?

Denard “Shoelace”  Robinson has provided these answers for us already in the first 5 weeks of the season. As the fastest athlete to ever play the QB position full time, Denard has exploded onto the national scene in the same exhilarating way that he overwhelms all 11 men on opposing defenses. But what makes him truly unstoppable is his drastic improvement as a passer of the football. “Shoelace” is pumping out Madden-like statistics, while leading his mediocre Wolverine team to a 5-0 record. But the numbers can’t capture his dominance. In this case, you really must see to believe……………

The University of Michigan has the most victories, highest winning percentage and multitudes of outstanding players in their 130 year history. Now consider……. Denard Robinson has put up the  1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 11th biggest single game, total yardage performances in Wolverine history…… in his first 5 starts!!! He has personally accounted for yardage totals of 383, 502, 345, 189, 494! Through the first five games, Robinson has already totaled 1,913 yards of total offense- 905 rushing yards and 1,008 passing yards. Shoelace is the nation’s leading rusher, as a QB, with 181 yds/gm. And these totals were reached despite Robinson playing only half of the 1st quarter vs. Bowling Green- a game in which he amazingly had 189 total yards and 2 TDs in the 9 minutes that he did play.  

Yes, he is small. Yes, he is slightly built. But as it may be, “Shoelace” is a boy among men- an unbelievably explosive, agile boy with a strong arm and keen intellect. A boy running circles around a group of gumpy, lead-footed, middle aged men who still can’t move past the days when they came so close to making the team…. the high school team….. 3 decades ago. But, with his frame and caution-to-the-wind running style, can he handle the abuse he will certainly receive from a full season of big-boy football (Big 10)? This is the only question that remains in regards to Denard. What is out of the question, is whether or not Denard Robinson is the most unstoppable player in College Football in the year 2010. Health maintained, the elite talent of “Shoelace” will prevail!  

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The Heisman Trophy is awarded to “the most OUTSTANDING college football player in America.” I understand that we’re only 5 games into the season, but can a case be made that any player, on any team, in the year 2010, is a more Outstanding football player  than Denard Robinson has already proven to be?! If so, what is the criteria used to make this determination? Best final statistics? I hope not, although Denard should hold his own. A dominant team? A national championship? Compelling, but no player has recruited or coached up the talent on the rest of his team. No, I would think that “Outstanding” refers to the most dominant, unstoppable, game-changing  NCAA football player. One who exudes greatness and drives his team to exceeding results. If we’re in agreement, these are exactly the qualities which Denard is displaying, even against a Big Ten team and the 2nd winningest program in the history of college football (while leading winning, last second drives in each game).  Says Indiana coach Bill Lynch: “He’s one of those guys that’s just different. He’s got speed. He’s got awareness. He’s got instincts, and he’s a very, very good passer as well. You can see it on film getting ready for him, but on the field you sense the same thing. Some athletes are just different. They have not only talent, but competitiveness and a sense of how to play the game.”

There it is: Denard Robinson is “JUST DIFFERENT”!

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