As Denard Robinson leads Michigan football team, Deerfield Beach finds reason to believe
From the time he was a young teenager, football coaches and teachers in Deerfield Beach, Fla., were charmed by Denard Robinson's attitude and drive to succeed.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. - Several stories above the Atlantic Ocean shoreline, construction crews transform an old hotel into what is touted as the new “world-class” Wyndham Resort.
Yellow tape cordons off a section of shrubs and sand, part of Broward County’s effort to prevent beach erosion and keep tourists interested in this swath of southeast Florida.
A few blocks away, a drawbridge connects the glittery beaches to the poorer side of town, where Khalid Sameem fights erosion of a different kind.
“I see the other side every day,” said Sameem, a detention center supervisor by day and a volunteer coach with the Packer Rattlers youth football team at night.
Children under his care on the football field often later fall under his supervision at the Detention Center for Boys in nearby Boca Raton. He predicts that transition with more regularity than he cares to discuss.
“You have the kids who you say, ‘Yeah, I know your family, and you’re going to prison,’” Sameem said. “Basically, I know the ones that will be in prison in three years.”
Once a close-knit farming community, Deerfield Beach's 76,000 or so residents have been chilled by three brutal child-on-child crimes committed within the past 13 months.
Those cases, combined with a scourge of daily drug offenses, have worsened fears that Deerfield Beach is losing its grip on a generation. “Ten or 15 years ago, the parents wanted to know why their kids weren’t playing,” said George Benton, another volunteer coach with the Packer Rattlers. “They ain’t concerned no more.”
He points to an empty stand of aluminum bleachers on a humid October night.
“We used to have a stand full of parents,” he said. “Now, we have three the whole year.”
Wedged in a neighborhood between Interstate 95 and the Dixie Highway, Westside Park, home of the Packer Rattlers, is surrounded by strip malls, small bungalows and street crime.
Good kids emerge from the neighborhood. Sometimes the best ones. John Marlow, principal at Deerfield Beach High School, frames their photos on a wall adjacent to his desk.
Among them: Sam Sargent, a class valedictorian now attending Penn and Chloe Brown, an undergrad at the University of Michigan. But one photo stands out amid the cluster of pictures.
Denard Robinson impressed coaches and teachers
Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson leads the country with 1,538 rushing yards. He's also thrown for 2,229 yards.
Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
The Packer Rattlers coaches speak of him with a hint of awe in their voices.
“We were on the 1-yard line and couldn’t get in because the offensive line wasn’t blocking,” Sameem said. “He comes to me and says, ‘Coach, put me in. I’ll block.’ I said, ‘Are you for real?’”
Standout quarterback Denard Robinson, age 13, was for real.
“I said, ‘You ain’t no gutter kid,’” Sameem said. “’You the quarterback.’ He wanted to get it done. He blocked, and blew his man off the ball. I knew right then we weren’t dealing with an ordinary kid.”
Six years later, he smiles and shakes his head at the memory.
There are no words.
From family members and long-time coaches to people who have only known him a short time, Robinson evokes feelings that run deeper than whatever promise he holds on a football field.
If there’s someone who personifies what Deerfield Beach hopes for its community, it’s Robinson.
The Michigan quarterback’s family roots in the town stretch to a time when deer actually were plentiful and ran through fields of saw palmetto and cabbage palms. Robinson’s great grandfather, Thomas Philpart, farmed peppers, beans and tomatoes in the 1930s, and sold the produce at the railway depot that stamped Deerfield Beach, approximately 15 miles north of Fort Lauderdale, as a booming agricultural town.
His grandfather on his mom’s side, Donald Vaughn, owned the town’s first filling station on the corner of 8th Street and the Dixie Highway.
Both settled their growing families in a neighborhood just south of 10th Street, where the Robinsons still live today.
Traces of that Deerfield Beach remain. A handful of farms survived the sprawl. The Royal Palm Motel, only two blocks from the new Wyndham Resort, advertises rooms for $39.88 a night.
But Deerfield Beach has changed.
“I’ve seen positive changes, and I wouldn’t go back,” said Flora Philpart, Robinson’s great aunt. “But back in the day, you could get in trouble in one area, and by the time you got to where you were going, your parents knew about it. That’s the way everybody was.”
Now, people wonder about the parents.
In October, the Broward Sheriff’s Office charged 17-year-old Jose Torres with felony manslaughter after he allegedly shot and killed a 12-year-old playmate with a .38 caliber pistol at point-blank range. When investigators searched Torres’ home, they found a cache of weapons that included two 9-mm semi-automatic pistols, a .45 caliber handgun, a Tec 9 machine gun and a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun.
Torres’ parents had no idea about their son’s gun “fetish,” the Miami Herald reported.
In October 2009, five boys allegedly doused 15-year-old Michael Brewer in rubbing alcohol and set him ablaze. Brewer suffered burns over 65 percent of his body, nearly died and spent months in the hospital.
Brewer’s old school, Deerfield Beach Middle School, is the same place where an eighth grader, Josie Lou Ratley, was nearly stomped to death in March by a classmate wearing steel-toed boots. Those cases brought national attention, but there is equal concern for children claimed by the undertow of everyday crime.
Art Taylor, Robinson’s high school football coach at Deerfield Beach High School who now coaches at Cooper City, had a promising sophomore running back who could have teamed with Robinson in the Bucks’ backfield.
“I lost him to drugs,” Taylor said. “Never saw him again.”
Staring at the empty bleachers, Benton says the answers lie at home.
“It’s parents,” he said. “A lot of these kids are raising themselves or have young parents. It’s like a baby raising a baby, you know?”
Parents help Robinson stay out of trouble
Denard Robinson impressed his teachers at Deerfield Beach High School. “He was always, ‘Yes, ma’am, no, ma’am,’” Spanish teacher Maria Brunet-Heeter said. “I love it when kids do that.”
Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
Kenny Brown, track coach at Deerfield Beach High School, laughs at the memory.
“I spoke to his parents all the time,” he said of Tom and Dorothea Robinson. “She would say, ‘Don’t let him get into trouble.’ That was the main thing. Mom and Dad made sure I understood that.
“Coach,’ she said when she walked up. ‘Coach. Make sure you keep him out of trouble, Coach.’”
Trouble is one place Brown never worried about finding Denard Robinson.
Maria Brunet-Heeter, his high school Spanish teacher, loved having Robinson in school. Not because he was necessarily a star pupil - “he was more interested in football and girls,” she said - but because he respected her and listened.
“He was always, ‘Yes, ma’am, no, ma’am,’” she said. “I love it when kids do that.”
When Robinson came back to visit last Christmas, he gave Brunet-Heeter a hug so big he lifted her off the floor.
One marking period, Robinson’s grade fell to a B in the class. Dorothea Robinson interceded, reached out to Brunet-Heeter and made sure her son didn’t lag anymore.
“Mom has that hold on him,” Taylor said. “She has that smile. I can see her watching the games smiling. She’s a tough lady, though. His dad is a hard worker and mom, he don’t want to disappoint Mom.”
Or coaches. During drills one day, Packer Rattler teammates scattered like dandelion seeds in the wind. Robinson herded them together and thundered.
“He told kids, ‘You have to listen to the coaches, not do that crap y’all doing,’” Benton said. “He knew the game, knew what to do. Those kids didn’t pay no attention. He paid attention.”
His family paid attention, too. Coaches said Robinson’s father and brothers watched almost every Rattlers practice from a chain-link fence that rings Westside Park.
Lessons learned in that contained environment served him well when he arrived on a larger stage. In his second career start in September, Robinson scored a game-winning touchdown with 27 seconds left against Notre Dame and compiled 502 yards of total offense.
The performance launched the college sophomore, currently the nation's leading rusher with 1,538 yards, into the national spotlight and Heisman Trophy conversation. Two days later, Taylor’s phone rang while he sat at home with his two younger children. He recognized Robinson’s number, and expected to hear all about the game and its glorious aftermath.
“He calls and he’s like, ‘How’s Kayla? How’s Ace?’,” Taylor said. “I mean, wow, what kid thinks about stuff like that, you know?”
Brown coached Robinson and three teammates to back-to-back state championships in the 4x100-meter relay, spending hours driving with the group to Winter Haven and hundreds more in training.
When it comes to explaining Robinson, who leads Michigan into Saturday's annual classic with Ohio State on Saturday (noon, ABC), he shakes his head and pauses.
“He’s an old man in a young man’s body,” he said.
What do people remember? His leadership and loyalty
Four dreadlocked, chiseled sprinters give a hard stare into the camera. The shutter snaps. A framed picture on a wall in their principal’s office preserves the moment.
Adrian Witty, Donte Dotson, Cassius McDowell and Robinson had just won their first of two 4x100 state championships.
The slowest relay member runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash. But on that day, Robinson found himself in fifth place out of eight teams when he received the baton from McDowell for the anchor leg.
Trailing by eight yards at the handoff, Robinson picked through the competition one by one until he only had Pompano Beach’s Patrick Peterson, now a cornerback at LSU, to beat.
For the third and most important time that season, Robinson caught Peterson at the tape for a Deerfield Beach win.
“That was classic,” Brown said. “I think I called Mr. Marlow about five times and said, ‘Oh, my God, we won! We won! We did it!’”
Hearing a description of the race’s final seconds, Marlow wasn’t entirely surprised.
“As much as we’re talking about what a nice kid he is, don’t let that fool you on the athletic field,” he said.
Statistics are one thing - on the football field, Robinson threw for 1,872 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior while running for 538 yards and eight more touchdowns - but Marlow more remembers the fire inside.
When the Bucks endured a sloppy performance at a spring game in Palm Bay, Robinson tore into his teammates, much in the same way he barked at the Wolverines after this year’s 34-17 loss to Michigan State. “I saw a different side of him that I had never seen,” Marlow said.
Still, when it comes to football, it’s not the intensity or the speed or even the heartbreaking playoff loss against Miami Northwestern that people in Deerfield Beach remember.
Sitting in the principal’s office, Flora Philpart unfurls another picture, this one of four teammates in their scarlet-and-gold uniforms holding hands, approaching midfield.
From the left: Josh Philpart, now Jacksonville University’s leading receiver; Robinson; Gerald Stewart, now a student at Florida Atlantic University; and George Orridge, who will attend Air Force starting in February.
The four are team captains and cousins, bound by football and family.
'He'll never forget where he comes from'
When Taylor attended college in Iowa in the 1980s, he lost a wallet brimming with $300 his father had given him to buy books for the new semester. A man returned the wallet.
“All the money is there,” Taylor said. “That doesn’t happen in Florida. I tell my kids to get out and experience other people. Because here, you don’t know that people like that exist.” Cornelius Jones, another Packer Rattlers volunteer who played football at Peru State in Nebraska is more blunt: “I tell kids, ‘You need to get away from here.’ It’s sad, but it’s the nature of the beast around here.”
Kids do leave. Recruits from Florida in general and Broward County in particular populate the rosters of FBS football programs across the country. It’s bittersweet for those left behind.
The Big Ten Network can be found on local cable networks, and it might get a ratings bump from this South Florida city, because so many watch Robinson, so many are invested in his success.
On a recent night at Westside Park, Robinson walked out of the darkness and appeared before the practicing Packer Rattlers. He was just there to say hello.
“He hasn’t forgotten,” Sameem said. “He’ll never forget where he comes from. He knows that when he hits the field on Saturdays, Deerfield is watching. And when he gets home, we’ll let him know, ‘Hey man, we’re real proud of you.’” They’re proud of his success on the football field, prouder of a kid from Deerfield Beach winning a fight against the tide.
Pete Bigelow covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2556, via e-mail at petebigelow@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @PeterCBigelow.
Comments
trigg7
Sat, Nov 27, 2010 : 9:39 a.m.
Hey dusty call me when he beats a real team, it is a team sport right?
15crown00
Sat, Nov 27, 2010 : 3:21 a.m.
Deerfield Beach sounds an awful lot like a lot of urban areas in Michigan The Wolves problem is and always will be R2.The Big Ten is NOT a league for lightweight players While the offense gets headlines the DEFENSE wins games.Meechigan doesn't have D. Good Bye West Virgina Rod
trigg7
Sat, Nov 27, 2010 : 2:56 a.m.
No, but he can't score against them. It's a TEAM sport.Only an average person would understand that. So if thats all you have then, YEA!!!
Dusty
Fri, Nov 26, 2010 : 7:58 p.m.
Denard plays defense now? He's been giving up all the points? It takes a really small person to discount someone's RECORD BREAKING season and accomplisments because other players on the team are bad.
trigg7
Fri, Nov 26, 2010 : 12:26 p.m.
Well, let me know when Denard plays a top team and isn't blown out! OSU 34 UM 10
aarox
Fri, Nov 26, 2010 : 8:27 a.m.
correction, Purdue got 16.
aarox
Fri, Nov 26, 2010 : 8:25 a.m.
Trigg, I appreciate your optimism and your 34-10 prediction, but its hard to envision a situation where OSU will be held to 34 points. For the record, below are the points we've given up in the Big Ten this year by team. For us to give up only 34 points suggests that TTDS is in the lower half of the Big Ten. Our past performance suggests that OSU will have more like 43-45 points, and that doesn't take into account that a couple of teams coasted against us in the 2nd half. Indiana35 MSU34 Iowa38 Penn State41 Illinois65 Purdue27 Wisky48
GettingBluer
Fri, Nov 26, 2010 : 12:43 a.m.
Denard has been impressive on and off the field. Not only is he talented, but he has class as well.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Fri, Nov 26, 2010 : 12:28 a.m.
Against Wisconsin, Denard Robinson passed for 239 yards, 2 TDs, and had 1 pick where the ball was tipped in the air by a lineman. He also ran the ball for 121 yards and 2 TDs. If that is getting shut down by "the big boys" then what would he have to do to qualify as exceeding expectations? Did you see how many dropped balls there were in the first half? Denard Robinson couldn't be any further from the root of any offensive problems we might have. Contrast that with Terrelle Pryor who, against Wisconsin, only threw for 156 yards, 0 TDs, and a pick. He also only rushed for 56 yards and 0 TDs. Denard Robinson's yards per carry was over 2 yards more than Pryor's. The fact is, good teams are going to make it more difficult for EVERYONE. Yes, Denard didn't account for 500+ yards of total offense against Wiscy but who does? Comparing Denard against Bowling Green to Denard against Wisconsin is apples to oranges.
ThoseWhoStayUofM
Fri, Nov 26, 2010 : 12:16 a.m.
The "Big Boys" have not been able to slow down Denard Robinson. They slowed down the rest of our offensive players but not him. Michigan State is the only one that did ANYTHING to Denard and he still had 200+ passing yards. Denard had 100+ yards rushing and threw the pall with 72% accuracy on 18 attempts against Iowa in only one half of play. Wisconsin got torn apart by Denard. Anyone who says Denard can't compete against top tier schools simply isn't paying attention.
trigg7
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 8:13 p.m.
Denard has not proved anything when it comes to the big boys, MSU,OSU,WISKY. So you get half a defense, big deal still cant beat the top of the BIG TEN, cant score against them and the DEF still blows! OSU 34 um 10
Sherlock
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 12:12 p.m.
It's a wonderful life -- even with the names! Up next, the "Lions"!
Pilgrim
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 11:51 a.m.
What a great article! Nice background reporting on Denard. His example is a message of hope for those of us who may be living on the edge. And another tribute is to the power of his loving family.
Sherlock
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 11:39 a.m.
Makes one all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?
Reed
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 11:21 a.m.
What a great story Denard Robinson is. This is a nice piece on Thanksgiving. As a Wolverine fan, I'm thankful that people like Denard are wearing the Maize and Blue. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and Go Blue on Saturday - play your hearts out and pull off the upset!
58-44-6
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 11:19 a.m.
Next year we will score the most points in the history of the Big Ten... Denard is nowhere near his potential... Be patient my babies...
tzgoblue
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 11:02 a.m.
57-43-6 Have you been watching what this offense has done against the good teams in the B10? We score 10 against MSU in the first half, 7 against Iowa in the first half, 7 against PSU in the first half and 0 against Wisconsin in the first half. This offense only appeared to be good in these games after we were behind by 20 points or more. The other teams began coasting with the games well in hand. It is time to get back to the Michigan way of playing football. That is with a stingy defense and an upgrade to a combination of power and spread offense. There is a Michigan Man that truely understands the "tradition" of Michigan along with the importance of the rivilaries ready and willing to lead this program back to respectability. There is no way Brandon can justify not making the change. RR indicates he is confident progress is being made and he is confident in the direction of the program and he is happy with all of his assistant coaches. Then he says "I'm not giving a timeline when we will be good" because people will hold me to it. This guy has no accountability and continues to make comments that blame everybody and everything for this mess except for himself or his band of yo yo's he brought with him from WV. DR deserves to play his last 2 years for a coach that can bring in an exception supporting staff and instantly recruit the type of defensive players needed to become competitive in the B10 again.
tzgoblue
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 11:01 a.m.
57-43-6 Have you been watching what this offense has done against the good teams in the B10? We score 10 against MSU in the first half, 7 against Iowa in the first half, 7 against PSU in the first half and 0 against Wisconsin in the first half. This offense only appeared to be good in these games after we were behind by 20 points or more. The other teams began coasting with the games well in hand. It is time to get back to the Michigan way of playing football. That is with a stingy defense and an upgrade to a combination of power and spread offense. There is a Michigan Man that truely understands the "tradition" of Michigan along with the importance of the rivilaries ready and willing to lead this program back to respectability. There is no way Brandon can justify not making the change. RR indicates he is confident progress is being made and he is confident in the direction of the program and he is happy with all of his assistant coaches. Then he says "I'm not giving a timeline when we will be good" because people will hold me to it. This guy has no accountability and continues to make comments that blame everybody and everything for this mess except for himself or his band of yo yo's he brought with him from WV. DR deserves to play his last 2 years for a coach that can bring in an exception supporting staff and instantly recruit the type of defensive players needed to become competitive in the B10 again.
58-44-6
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 10:53 a.m.
Denard Robinson is the greatest running Quarterback since man first climded out of the primordial ooze and evolved from apes don't get rid of richrod, just grob or drob will leave too
Sherlock
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 10:16 a.m.
See, Denard? Moo U wants you! Why not go to greener pastures? Maybe they'll figure out that you belong on the track team, not as football quarterback. Then maybe you'll get the appreciation you apparently deserve. In the Big Top, things, starting with shoe laces, are not working for you!
DonAZ
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 10:06 a.m.
Denard is a good kid... he's gifted yet humble. A refreshing change from what we normally see from high-profile young athletes. Regarding Denard's height -- he's had at least three passes batted down at the line of scrimmage in the last two games. It would not surprise me at all if he's closer to 5'10" than 6'0". Regarding the spread offense -- it's a perfectly good offense when implemented appropriately. Some variant of it will be the future of football in the coming decade. It'll work in the Big Ten provided: a) the offensive line is good enough to hold off larger defensive linemen, b) there's a running attack beyond the QB, and c) there are contingency plans for playing in adverse weather. Regarding the defense -- I would *love* to see Michigan with a better defense. If Michigan's defense was ranked in the middle of the pack rather than near dead last, we'd probably be 9-2 right now.
tulsatom
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 9:55 a.m.
Denard and the offense have been a bright spot all year and should be able to move the ball on OSU. However, that is more than negated by U-M's inability to stop power running teams like Wisconsin, Iowa, MSU, and OSU so I fear the game could get ugly once again this year. Denard has achieved beyond almost every U-M fan's wildest expectations and he should be proud of that. The only knock I have on him is that he tends to have more than his share of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage, but that is probably due to his height and relative inexperience in the passing game. That part of his game should improve with time. Not enough talent on defense will once again doom the U-M cause in the finale. Hopefully, the extra month of practice time in December should help the team improve and get healthy for the bowl game.
lugemachine
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 9:36 a.m.
Great piece, Pete. I feel eminently comfortable with this young man at the helm. Can't wait to see what he does over the course of the next two seasons... then when he leaves, Devin will slip right in behind him for two more years. Dave Brandon will take care of the problem on defense. THAT is what the trolls fear.. Michigan with a defense. I would say their fear is entirely justified.
GoBucks
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 9:10 a.m.
Denard seemed like a real nice person every time I have had the chance to see him speak. I also like his moment of "thanks" whenever he scores. Story around OSU is that Denard is only 5' 10" tall. I would have thought UM would have a taller QB because wiggling around will work only against teams who are unprepared for such a QB; however, OSU is ready for Denard. Once OSU takes Denard out of his game, the UM team has not much to score with.
trigg7
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 8:46 a.m.
Not very good when it comes to playing the BIG BOYS. OSU 34 um 10
peltist
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 8:37 a.m.
It is nice to see a positve article for a change. DRob should be proud of himself.
Brad
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 7:46 a.m.
RR a "Pioneer"? Is that because he should be coaching in high school?
58-44-6
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 7:14 a.m.
Rich Rodriguez is a Pioneer Spread Option Offense. The spread option offense is a variant of the more generic spread offense. It has found unprecedented success and widespread employment in college and high school football. Essentially a hybrid of the traditionally pass-oriented spread offense, the spread option is based on the concept of defensive isolation. The offense "spreads" the defense by aligning in three-to-five receiver sets, using two or fewer running backs in the backfield and often setting the quarterback in shotgun. This spread forces the defense to defend more of the field and isolates its players in space. To exploit this, the offense employs double or triple option plays which further mitigates the athleticism of the defense and forces it to play their assignments. When used in combination with a consistent passing game, the spread option offense can yield strong results. The means by which option plays are run from the spread option offense vary greatly. The most popular running play employed in the spread is the read option. This play is also known as the zone-read, QB Choice, or QB Wrap. A type of double option, the read option is relatively simple play during which the quarterback makes a single read (usually of the backside defensive end or linebacker) and decides whether or not to hand the ball to a running back on a dive or slant track. Others have found even more innovative ways to run the option from spread formations. Creative use of motioning schemes have enabled wide receivers and even tight ends to become ballcarriers as evidenced by Wake Forest's version of the spread employed during the mid-2000s. Urban Meyer helped to innovate the option attack out of the shotgun formation. Other pioneers include University of Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, Kansas State University Coach Bill Snyder, Oregon coach Chip Kelly and others.
58-44-6
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 6:52 a.m.
We need a new defensive scheme and coordinater, I think we can have an average defense next year (24 points a game) and the best offense in the history of mankind, and then... Michigan 77 Western Michigan 3 Michigan 45 Notre Dame 31 Michigan 87 Eastern Michigan 0 Michigan 52 San Diego State 24 Michigan 66 Minnesota 14 Michigan 45 Northwestern 17 Michigan 41 Michigan State 24 Michigan 59 Purdue 6 Michigan 38 Iowa 17 Michigan 45 Illinois 24 Michigan 35 Nebraska 31 Michigan 38 Ohio State 31 Michigan 41 Ohio State 34 ( Big Ten Championship) Michigan 41 Alabama 27 I have never seen a Offense with this many underclassmen and a first year Quarterback move the ball so well, next years offense will be incredible...
Jonny Spirit
Thu, Nov 25, 2010 : 6:48 a.m.
Hey Denard, MSU has a great defense would you be interested in coming North to a real team. Please send your application to MSU and I will get the paper work started. Go Green! Michigan is lucky to have you!