Michigan's Gardner looks to take next step at QB

CHICAGO - Devin Gardner was labeled a can't-miss quarterback prospect when he left the Detroit area three years ago. Yet he opened the 2012 season as Michigan's starting wide receiver and that appeared as his position destination.

Gardner's supreme athletic ability was necessary for the receiver-depleted Wolverines last fall. He started five games at receiver, caught 16 passes for 266 yards and scored four touchdowns. He became an impact player.

But Gardner's growth at receiver was stunted when senior starting quarterback Denard Robinson suffered an elbow injury against Nebraska. Robinson's replacement, then-freshman Russell Bellomy, struggled. Bellomy finished just 3-of-16 for 38 yards and three interceptions, and the Wolverines were bounced by the Cornhuskers 23-9.

Two days later, Gardner's career changed. Bellomy was out with an undisclosed injury. Robinson had a nerve issue in his throwing elbow. Gardner was the only player with quarterback experience left on the roster.

"That Monday I knew," Gardner said, "I knew I'd probably have the opportunity to play. And then that Tuesday I knew I'd be the guy.

"When Denard got hurt, we only had one scholarship quarterback. So we had to do something. (Coach Brady Hoke) let me compete for the job, and Russ was injured so the job was all mine, and I had a chance to perform."

It's not an easy transition from any position to quarterback, yet Gardner made the move look almost effortless. He started four games at quarterback, yet racked up 1,219 passing yards, just 100 shy of Robinson. Gardner threw 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, compared to Robinson's nine and nine, respectively.

Gardner engineered three straight wins before the Wolverines dropped their finale against rival Ohio State and the Outback Bowl to South Carolina by five points apiece. Robinson returned as the starter against the Buckeyes, but Gardner served as Michigan's only passer.

Gardner, a red-shirt junior, enters this season named among the Legends Division's top five players to watch. But is it sheer luck that he's a quarterback? Had Robinson - or Bellomy, who tore an ACL in the spring - stayed healthy, would Gardner have remained a wide receiver? With the benefit of hindsight, Hoke steadfastly says Robinson was moving back to quarterback this year.

"He was always going to go back to quarterback," Hoke said. "(Gardner) and I had talked about it. He really showed a lot of unselfishness by moving to wide receiver, and it really became part of his DNA and what he wanted to do to help the football team."

"I would have entered this year as a quarterback," Gardner reiterated.

Gardner no longer is a situational player. Robinson, for all of his success as an elite athlete, was limited in the passing game. Gardner has no such limitations. He's got the arm strength, he's taller than Robinson (6-foot-4 compared to 6-foot) and boasts similar play-making ability. Gardner graduated from college in three years and has the charisma to win over his teammates, coaches and fans.

"I think Devin, his maturity and understanding what it is to be the quarterback at Michigan, I think he's absorbed that, understands the decisions that we have to make as a football team and the decisions that he makes as a quarterback," Hoke said. "They're going to be very important."

Gardner does need to learn the position's nuances. He admits he often looks for the big play with his feet or a deep pass and needs to hit his checkdowns.

"I'm blessed with the ability to run just as Denard is," Gardner said. "So I don't have to force anything. As an athlete sometimes you get so comfortable with your skill set that you do force things, and that's one thing I don't want to do. If it's not there, I can easily break out on a run."