Rich Rodriguez says Denard Robinson's post-game speech not much of a surprise
Denard Robinson
AnnArbor.com file photo
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez wasn’t in the locker room when Denard Robinson delivered a stirring postgame speech to his teammates Saturday night.
When he heard the sophomore quarterback rallied the Wolverines following a 34-17 loss to Michigan State, he viewed it as the logical continuation of Robinson’s growth.
Not necessarily a big deal.
“Sometimes that’s a little overrated, but sometimes it’s not,” Rodriguez said Tuesday. “The most important thing is to stay focused.”
Rodriguez thought perhaps what impressed the Wolverines most was that the leadership came from an underclassmen.
“It’s that he’s a younger player,” he said. “When you’re not a junior or senior, you are usually a little hesitant to be more vocal.”
On Monday, teammates said they’d never seen Robinson so outspoken and emotional as he was following the game, and that his command in the locker room won him credibility.
“Some say it was a tough game for him, but in my personal opinion, it built him,” receiver Kelvin Grady said. “I never heard him speak with such emotion.”
Here's the initial story on Robinson’s post-game speech.
Injuries take toll
In the wake of Martavious Odoms' broken foot in the loss to Michigan State, Rodriguez was exasperated with the banged-up state of his football team Tuesday.
"It's a major concern," he said. "I don't know if we've had a season with this many season-ending broken foots, broken leg, a shoulder. It's frustrating, and limiting some things we can do and forcing kids into action more than I want."
Cornerback Troy Woolfolk, safeties Mike Williams and Jared Van Slyke and linebacker Mike Jones are ruled out for the season. Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint (knee, shoulder) has only played in one game this season.
Rodriguez said Monday that Odoms will miss an "extended" period of time, but did not definitively rule him out for the year.
Pete Bigelow covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2556, via email at petebigelow@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @PeterCBigelow.
Comments
Sean T.
Thu, Oct 14, 2010 : 12:42 p.m.
Chad, Denard racking up at least 300 yards total is the problem with the offense. We need more of everyone else to take the pressure off Denard! Because you're right.....he's only a sophmore.
Chad Williams
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 11:56 a.m.
I would just like to say Congrats to Denard... Though those two endzone picks killed us, MSU really didnt dominate as the score indicates... Msu made plays in space and thats the key to containing this offense... Denard still will average 300 plus yards a game... I like what i see with what we have, which is no depth and youth on D. Its not the coaching the secondary has a bunch of redshirt freshman and true freshman... Think if we had the secondary we thought we had after spring...Woolfolk, Turner, emillen, dorsey.... Thats two 5 star freshman recruits a senior corner and a redshirt sophmore safety... Denard brought michigan back to the national headlines for something good... Oh yea he is only a sophmore
azwolverine
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 11:32 a.m.
tru2blu, I agree with a lot of what you said, however I'm not sure that I completely agree with your assessment about Nov. 13. There are two games remaining after that, both of which will, imo, go a long way in determining the future of Michigan under RR. Beating PSU (they're way down), Illinois (at home), and Purdue (injury plagued) should, at this point, be a given. Is that where we make our final judgements on this team? If we win those three games, that is proof that we can now beat the middling teams and call ourselves mediocre. I think that while all three of those games provide valid tests, the games against Iowa, Wisconsin, and OSU are far more telling. How does UM compete against top level B10 competition? If we want to be the best, we need to beat the best. Beating teams that are so-so doesn't mean a lot...this is Michigan, not Purdue. Don't forget: moving forward Notre Dame will only get better under Kelley; MSU, Iowa, and OSU are fixtures on our schedule, and Nebraska will be as well. Illinois could be a force with their new coaches and improving QB in future seasons, too. We already fell short against MSU again, now we need to up the ante for the rest of this season against the top teams. We need to see signs that we can play with pounding, bruising, in your face B10 teams and compete for championships. Nov. 27 will define that.
azwolverine
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 9:51 a.m.
Denard is a tremendous QB and a tremendous leader. He can't be asked to win every game by himself, which is pretty much what he's done in every win this season outside of Bowling Green. He's put a lot of pressure on himself to be perfect because, frankly, we've needed it. That's too much to ask of him every game. By the way, beating MSU would have been a far greater indicator of RR doing "great things" with this team than Denard having to say something due to another loss to Sparty. Just sayin'.
BlueMom
Wed, Oct 13, 2010 : 7:31 a.m.
RR should have put in Tate and given Denard a chance to regroup. Last year, Tate took us to OT at their place. The biggest letdown on offense was that RR could not adapt.....
lawrencelaundry
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 11:12 p.m.
Sevans68 well said. RR offense is great,exciting and explosive. But a defense that shows no sign of improvement over time period of 6 weeks let alone GERGS been here for two yrs is not right. There reason why saracuse fired him. AND if he's such a great DC why isn't he still in the NFL. And I don't want to hear Michigan does not have talent. Because players can get coached up beyond their talent level. Ron Zook was on the hot seat and changed DC and now has a much improved Defense. They nearly upset Ohio State and spanked Penn State.
lawrencelaundry
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 10:44 p.m.
Sevans68 well said. RR offense is great,exciting and explosive. But a defense that shows no sign of improvement over time period of 6 weeks let alone GERGS been here for two yrs is not right. There reason why saracuse fired him. AND if he's such a great DC why isn't he still in the NFL. And I don't want to hear Michigan does not have talent. Because players can get coached up beyond their talent level. Ron Zook was on the hot seat and changed DC and now has a much improved Defense. They nearly upset Ohio State and spanked Penn State.
Sevans68
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 9:34 p.m.
By the way, how this team responds against Iowa will tell us alot about the team and the coaching staff. i truly hope to see the passion and desire that this team will need to beat a good Iowa team. Go Blue
Sevans68
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 9:30 p.m.
Tater - just because everyone doesn't have your blind devotion to Rich Rod doesn't mean they aren't "true fans". I've been following Michigan football for 40 years and have seen down years, bad defenses and bad losses before. The difference is we have not hit an all time low, especially on defense. I think Rich Rod is a "good" offensive coach who pays no attention to defense. I think Denard is a good kid with great running skills and his short passing has really improved this year. He has missed open receivers down field before the MSU game but this time he also threw the picks. I realize he is young and will get better and will make mistakes. I'm glad he spoke to the team and showed some leadership. We need someone on defense to do this as well. I wish Rich Rod thought this type of leadership was a little more important. I just don't get the feeling that he truly understands the rivalries (maybe it's just his laid back personality) but I don't see the passion to beat MSU and OSU that Dantonio and Tressel seem to show to the fans & players that makes them give the extra effort.
Do Better
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 9:06 p.m.
If the defense was bad in 2006, 20007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. Plus they have had three different Defensive Coordinators could be that Michigan just does not have the athletes to keep up or do fans really believe those recruiting services rankings. Cause when i watch a SEC game Michigan players do not compare to their players on defense. Tha goes for a LC team or a RR team.
ritawedaliar
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 7:17 p.m.
Lil bro' laid a real whippin' on old DRob. Wonder what he will have to say after he gets pounded by the Hawkeyes. The rr flame out has officially begun.
frozenhotchocolate
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 7:06 p.m.
at this point I would vote for denard for president, yes the defense is terrible but when comes the challenge then comes the potential. go blue through and through.
GettingBluer
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 6:48 p.m.
I just hope Denard doesn't think it is ALL up to him. It is a team sport and the defense is dead weight right now.
lawrencelaundry
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 5:59 p.m.
I feel bad for Denard. Had he been on a team with capable defensive coaching, they would still be undefeated. Who knows what will happen the rest of the season.
michboy40
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 5:49 p.m.
Denard will learn to not try and do so much as he grows. A defense would be nice too because he wouldn't feel like we have to score every posession.
Bogie
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 4:48 p.m.
I feel for Denard also, the wolverine "powder puff" schedule gave the young man a false sense of superiority. Time for Rich Rod's snake medicine offense to go. His program is bringing the big ten down.
lawrencelaundry
Tue, Oct 12, 2010 : 2:27 p.m.
I feel bad for Denard. Had he been on a team with capable defensive coaching, they would still be undefeated. Who knows what will happen the rest of the season.