Denard Robinson says he's 100 percent healthy heading into Penn State game
Speaking up is something Denard Robinson would prefer to avoid.
But when he saw a few of his Michigan football teammates hanging their heads following a 34-17 loss to Michigan State two weeks ago, the sophomore quarterback knew he had to say something.
“We don’t want this season to become like last year,” Robinson said Monday, explaining why he delivered a passionate post-game address to teammates in the locker room.
“I didn’t want nobody to put their head down.”
Robinson won’t put his head down when the Wolverines (5-2 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) return from their bye Saturday against Penn State in Happy Valley.
He said the off week gave his shoulder and knee time to recover from injuries sustained in the season’s first seven games. Asked if he was 100 percent healthy now, Robinson said, “Oh yeah.”
Comments
wvtroll
Fri, Oct 29, 2010 : 2:08 p.m.
So let me get this straight -- you must use a futuristic offense in today's game of football to be respectable? Your wins should also be futuristic (meaning not of present day)? I think I'd take old-time successful over futuristic, unproven successful. To me, respect is earned by what you've done, not by what you're telling me you're going to do.
GoblueinNE_PA
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 12:22 p.m.
@Ross I didn't know that you had to be a shill for the current head coach in order to be a fan of the team. "{rolls eyes}" I'll let you in on something, I'm an alum, my loyalty is to the university, not the man in the head coaches office. I will always support the TEAM, but I will call any one to the carpet who's not living up to the standards set by MY university. There is not a single category of performance that you can honestly say that RichRod has met or exceeded standards at Michigan. NOT ONE. And for that, he should be roundly criticized by all who truly care about the school and the football program. To blindly sit back and pretend like nothing is wrong is for the meak and foolish. Michigan is for the Leaders and Best. You can be one or the other. Make a choice.
Sean T.
Wed, Oct 27, 2010 : 8:12 a.m.
Camaro Dan, I'm not a fan of RR but if he proves me wrong, I'll have nothing to complain about, right? I thought it was pretty clear, I even read it over 3 times to make sure. I'll always support Michigan but I don't have to support the coach whether he wins or not!
CamaroDan
Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 9:18 p.m.
Sean T I am real confused on your takes. You want RR gone yet you have a plan for UM to win. If you want RR gone, why do you want UM to win or suggest ways for them to win? Our O is better that their O by a wider margin than their D is better that our D = UM win, UM 31 PSU21
Sean T.
Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 1:54 p.m.
If "complaining" won't get it done, holding hands and singing kumbaya won't get it done either. My issue like others on this site is the wrong guy is here and it's pretty easy to see it. It's up to RR to change our perception of him and the only way that's possible is to show a real improvement. He's ignored the defense, special teams, NCAA rules and accountability. At what point do we ask if we are going in the right direction? I think many of the apologists believe that RR will make us look like Oregon or the Florida of a few years ago. They are stuck in this dream that RR has this futuristic offense that will bring us into the modern era. But it is impossible for him to do that because he ignores the things I listed above. I've heard so many excuses why we are not playing well in conference play; Cupboard being bare, Greg Robinson and our players our young. But many coaches make the last regime's players "their" players, they hire guys that can do their job, they recruit their needs and coach up the underclass. Everyone says that we're so young but there are 4 SEC teams with more true freshmen playing this year than us. One of them is the 8-0 Auburn Tigers! I didn't expect us to be undefeated but I did expect improvement. Our explosive offense has been a mirage thus far and is looking much like last year. If we don't win 8 games this year, we should cut our losses and find someone else to do the job! Go Blue!!!!!!!
Ross
Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 11:06 a.m.
@goblue in PA: If the next big ten win took all the way until a new coach, next year - guess what - Tru2Blu, myself, and all the other so-called "rich rod apologists" will SUPPORT the NEW coach, too. You see, we support the current TEAM, whatever state it might be in. The Anti-RichRod crew only spews negativity and cries for change, as if some other unknown coach will magically bring about a conference title season right away. If you think voicing your dislike for Rich Rod will help to bring about change, you are wrong. The comments after articles on these sites do little except annoy people with pointless bickering (my current comments included). Support the team, focus on the positives, hope for improvement. Pointing out our current issues is one thing, but harping on dislike for the coach as rationale for losses is counter-productive. I certainly don't KNOW that we'll win this game (or any others left this season). But I KNOW it is possible that we could win - the talent is there, and the game runs on emotion. So why not HOPE for a win and stay optimistic? Life is so much better when you enjoy it.
GoblueinNE_PA
Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 10:15 a.m.
@Tru2 When that next win against a Big 10 team happens next year under a new coach, will you man up then? Just curious. Oh, BTW, Hope is based upon faith. It doesn't need to have any logic or data to drive it. The optimism and pessimism in this case is based upon real world results. Just sayin'.
Sean T.
Tue, Oct 26, 2010 : 8:59 a.m.
Camaro Dan, They still are better than us defensively even with the all of the underclassmen. Their coaching staff has them more prepared each week than ours, that's what makes this a difficult game. Like I said, We need to get up "Big" on PSU and make their QB's play from behind.
stunhsif
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 10:14 p.m.
Hopefully Denard starts, throws a few more interceptions and Michigan loses yet another game!!! Go Green Go White!!!
GoblueinNE_PA
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 7:26 p.m.
PSU >>> IU. Put it this way, I'm not optimistic for this weekend and expect to be hearing it loud and clear from my neighbors.
CamaroDan
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 7:09 p.m.
Sean T. PSU defense if racked with season ending injuries and another starter out for breaking team rules. So, our O should do very well. UM 31 PSU 21.
tim
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 4:51 p.m.
I'm no longer a beleaver -- As a old coach said "talk is cheap " I want to come back into the fold but seeing is beleaving. Go Blue!
Sean T.
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 3:54 p.m.
PSU has a tough defense and far better athletes so I'll hold off from predicting a win for us. Illinois is a game where I think we don't have a shot because the Illini are always pumped to play us.(and they have better athletes) Purdue is very similar to us but they have a tough defense and that makes too much of a difference with our poor defensive play. Our best chance at making a bowl is to get up big on Penn State and their Young QB's may struggle to bring them back.
saginaw
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 3:14 p.m.
Michigan is favored to beat PSU by 2.5 points -- personally, I believe that we can win by 2.5 touchdowns. This is truly a team that we can really score points on. Time to get things back on track! Actually, I see Illinios as the far tougher match-up for Michigan.
Yelmonian
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 2:55 p.m.
A2D2, I understand your thought process... and I understand you can't compare one team to another. I'm going to do it anyway... Indiana racked up a ton of points against Michigan. They were completely blasted by Illinois this weekend, and their offense was kept under control. The three teams you indicated.... Penn St, Illinois, and Purdue all have significantly better defenses than Indiana has. If Michigan's offense was able to play the other team's offense, I might agree with you. They don't. They play the other teams defense... and that is where the problem is.
michboy40
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 2:32 p.m.
I like you chance of out scoring these three teams...Assuming Martin, Molk, et all are also feeling better.
A2D2
Mon, Oct 25, 2010 : 1:51 p.m.
The very best news for UM is NOT that Denard is 100% (although that's good news), it's that Penn St. has the #9 offense in the B10, gaining an average of 337 yards per game.. It gets better for UM: Illinois is #10 in offense in the B10 (330 ypg) and Purdue is #11 (327 ypg). I know that their numbers will all go up considerably against the UM defense (currently ranked 11th in the B10, giving up 441 ypg), but it's a silver lining, at least. None of these guys is MSU or Iowa, that's for sure.