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November 05, 2010 - Image 11

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The Michigan Daily, 2010-11-05
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SHOELACE
From Page 5
To those who follow the Michigan football team, he's a sav-
ior and an enigma. He doesn't say much. He's quiet, always
reserved. His eyes give nothing away. Ann Arbor wonders.
Who is Denard Robinson? How can someone so young be
capable of so much? Can he really handle the weight of a pro-,
gram? His parents wonder. Have they done all they can? Has
he learned enough to be ready?
There are so many questions.
Here, around this television, there are answers.
Denard Robinson was just a boy - 10, almost 11-years old -
and he didn't like this feeling. His team lost. The Rattlers were
his team, he was their quarterback. He could have won that
game. He could have been better.
So it must've been his fault, he told himself. It wasn't any of
his teammates' faults. It wasn't coach's fault. It was his fault.
He couldn't stop thinking about that as his parents drove him
home. He had to get better.
He asked his dad what to do. His dad was the hardest work-
ing person he knew. He would know how to get better.
To those on the outside, it seemed like he was doing more
than enough. The Rattlers practiced five days a week. They
had film study. But it wasn't enough for him. So he came home
and played in the street, throwing balls across the pavement
between his grandparents' houses to anyone willing to catch
them.
- Sammie Huggins saw this. The Packer Rattlers' coach
knew Robinson wasn't the fastest guy on the team - that was

Denard's friend, Adrian Witty. But his decisionnwas easy: Rob-
inson was a quarterback, plain and simple.
Huggins couldn't keep the ball out of his hands.
"He loved to run that ball," Huggins says, looking over his
old stomping grounds at Westside Park. "He'd tell me, 'Coach,
call quarterback sneak!' I'd tell him no, to hand it off, and so
he'd fake the handoff and keep it and run for a ton of yards."
Witty and Robinson became the dynamic duo. They were
a perfect cocktail of speed and athleticism, magic and might.
Everyone knew they couldn't be stopped if they were at their
best.
And Robinson played the game with his shoes untied. Kids
would go for his shoes on tackles, and he'd come up to the
huddle in just socks. His coach couldn't stand it at first and
neither could his parents. They'd tie wristbands around his
shoes. When that didn't work, they tried athletic tape. They
even rolled his socks over his shoes. He was a marvel, and he
wasn't even finished with the sixth grade.
He was just different.
"He listened," Huggins says. "That's the difference. We had
some guys on that team that didn't listen. Denard's attitude
was always great, that's why you know he's going to go some-
where."
But he was still hurting after that particular loss. He
couldn't shake that feeling - the pain of losing.
He told his dad what he was feeling and that he wanted to
get better. So the two took the seat of a swing that they had
found lying around, tied a thick rope to it and looped the rope
around a tire. Thomas Sr. put the swing around his son's waist.
And Denard took off.
The young quarterback ran 40 yards and walked back. Then
40 more. And 40 after that. He ran 40 yards till his calves
burned and his lungs ached and he couldn't run anymore.
Minutes before the game begins, the seat next to the televi-
sion is filled. Thomas Sr. is finally home.
He came straight from his work with the City of Deerfield
Beach, rushed and weary. He's wearing his Michigan shirt and
hat.

Breakdown: Illini Defense, dual-threat
QB could pose problems for Wolverines

"Ifyou wanna win..."
...put Shoelace in."

SAMMIE HUGGINS
DENARD'S PEEWEE FOOTBALL COACH
"He listened, that's the difference."
He is quiet like his son, never speaking unless necessary.
But at this moment, he turns to the family members in the first
two rows and speaks for the first time as words like "Heisman"
and "superstar" blurt out from the television.
"My hands are getting sweaty," he says, laughing weakly.
He wipes them on his jeans and turns back to the television
where the game is seconds away from beginning.
The TV analysts continue in the background. More ques-
tions. "How can Iowa shut down Denard Robinson?" a voice
asks from the television.
"Ain't no shutting him down," Thomas Sr. answers. "You
can try to contain him."
There's not even a touch of humor in his voice. He has seen
too many athletes look silly trying to tackle his son, too many
out of desperation try to yank off his shoes just to slow him
down. He's seen too much success to ever assume Denard will
fail.
A fire burns inside of him, as it does inside his son.
"He just hates to lose, more than anything," Thomas Sr.
says.
After choosing to kick off at the game's start, the Michigan
defense stops Iowa's offense on its first drive - three-and-out.
It's time.
At that moment, every eye huddled around Rose Robinson's
garage stares straight at the screen as Denard Robinson makes
his way out onto the field.
"My hands are still sweaty," Thomas Sr. tells Kent, his
brother.
on the second play of the drive, Denard takes his first carry
of the game straight into the Hawkeye defense for four yards.
The tailgate erupts.
"If you wanna win..." Dorrell yells.
"... put Shoelace in," his cousin Roscoe answers.
But Thomas Sr. isn't listening. His body is in this chair, sur-
rounded by his family, but his heart is a thousand miles away
in Ann Arbor. He gets anxious in the chair as his son gets anx-
ious at the Iowa 40-yard line. He is forced to watch, helpless,
hoping that he showed his son enough.
Robinson looks like a grown man to most watching this
television, but to his dad, he's still that little boy with a swing
around his waist, dragging that tire.

By JOE STAPLETON
Daily Sports Editor
Going into the game against Penn
State a week ago, the Michigan
football team was facing a walk-on
at quarterback and a defense that
has been severely depleted by inju-
ries. Despite all of that, the Nittany
Lions handled the Wolverines for the
majority of the game before allowing
a brief fourth-quarter comeback.
Michigan will be taking on a very
different and much better beast Sat-
urday at noon.
Illinois boasts a middle-of-the-
road offense statistically - its 26
points per game ranks 62nd in the
country - but one of the nation's
better defenses, which ranks 12th in
points allowed.
The Illini at 5-3 have no quality
wins but some very quality losses. No
team they've beaten has cracked the
top 25, but they lost to Missouri by
10 in the first game of the year and to
Ohio State by 11 on Oct. 2.
Though they have identical
records, Illinois and Michigan are on
opposite trajectories.
The Illini have won two in a row
and are looking to continue their hot
streak. Michigan has lost three in a
row and are trying desperately to
make sure this season doesn't end up
like the last.
MICHIGAN RUN OFFENSE VS.
ILLINOIS RUN DEFENSE
Sophomore quarterback Denard
Robinson is coming off a very good
bounce-back game against Penn
State in which he completed nearly
50 percent of his passes for 190
yards and a touchdown without an
interception. He was knocked out
of the game briefly and hurt his
hip, but it shouldn't bother him this
week.
Illinois's secondary has beens
improving this year, but has a
reputation of giving up the big play.
Michigan has plenty of wide receiv-
ers who are due for some big plays
and if they can take advantage of
some holes in the Illini defensive
backfield Robinson will have a big
day through the air.
EDGE: MICHIGAN
MICHIGAN PASS OFFENSE VS.
ILLINOIS PASS DEFENSE
After being declared healthy for
the first time in weeks before Penn
State, Robinson had a great day on
the ground, racking up 191 rushing
yards and three touchdowns. While

that was against Penn State's deplet-
ed defense, there's little doubt he'll
be able to run the ball against Illi-
nois because he's Denard Robinson.
The question is whether the
Michigan running backs will shoul-
der any of the load. Last week, soph-
omore Vincent Smith gained just 25
yards on nine carries and freshman
Stephen Hopkins ran for 14 yards on
five carries.

ter to run all over tI
the back accounted f
yards on the ground.
Leshoure has alr
780 yards rushing o
combination of him
will be very tough fo
to defend.

Their productio
Michigan wants t
rushing attack.
The Illinois def
opponents to gain
carry, but Robinso
opponent.
ILLINOIS RU
MICHIGAN R
Michigan's fro
dealing with Sche
game almost as m
ary will be dealini
The freshman is
leading rusher be
Mikel Leshoure a
downs on the grou
Junior nose ta
the anchor of Mi
line, is listed as
which means he
full strength after
early in the game,
Even so, the W
Penn State runnin

in needs to go up if ILLINOIS PASS OFFENSE VS;
o have a sustained MICHIGAN PASS DEFENSE
Michigan must have done some-
ense is allowing thing to really piss off the secondary
just 3.6 yards per gods.
n isn't just any After losing senior Troy Woolfolk
in the preseason to a season-ending
injury, the Wolverine secondary was
EDGE: MICHIGAN already painfully thin. This week
we learned that redshirt sophomore
IN OFFENSE VS. J.T. Floyd, Michigan's most consis-
UN DEFENSE tent cornerback, will be out for the
nt seven will be remainder of the season because of an
elhaase in the run ankle injury in practice, leaving the
uch as the second- secondary with one non-freshman
g with his passing. starter - senior James Rogers, who
the Illini's second- started the year as a wide receiver.
hind running back The young backfield will have'
nd has two touch- its hands full. Illinois quarterback
nd this season. Nathan Scheelhaase is a dual threat
ckle Mike Martin, and quite accurate, completing 61
chigan's defensive percent of his passes.
probable to play The secondary will likely have
likely won't be at trouble keeping an eye on him and
'injuring his ankle wide receiver A.J. Jenkins, Illinois's
against Penn State. best at the position.

Illinois kicker Derek Dimke is
15-for-17 on field goals on the year
and has a career long of 52 yards.
This one's easy.

hem last week as SPECIAL TEAMS
or more than 150 Michigan is still going through
special teams changes and that's
'eady racked up not good at this point in the season.
n the season. The Freshman punter Will Hagerup,
and Sheelhaase handled almost every kickoff against
r the Wolverines Penn State and there's no reason to
believe that will change. Field goals
will be kicked by sophomore Seth
EDGE: ILLINOIS Broekhuizen, but he has been unim-
pressive so far.

FINAL SCORE:
EDGE: ILLINOIS MICHIGAN 42, ILLINOIS 37

INTANGIBLES
Michigan is fighting to save its
season and the Fighting Illini are
trying to keep its two-game winning
streak going.
The Wolverines are playing at
home, but it may be a bit of an awk-
ward homecoming given the tremen-
dous disappointment at Penn State.
Michigan continues to assert that
this season is not like last season,
and this is the game to prove it.
EDGE: MICHIGAN

'olverines allowed
sg back Evan Roys-

EDGE: ILLINOIS

FootballSaturday, November 6, 2010

TheMichiganDaily, www.michigandaily.com 3

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