GBMWolverine: Michigan Football — Denard Robinson plans to enter 2013 NFL Draft — as a Quarterback

Posted at 8:00am — 3/15/2012

GBMWolverine: Michigan Football — Denard Robinson plans to enter 2013 NFL Draft — as a Quarterback

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Denard Robinson made it clear that he does not plan to switch positions when entering the 2013 NFL Draft and that he will prepare as if a NFL team will draft him to play quarterback.

“I’m planning on being a quarterback,” Robinson said concerning his future NFL position, but he also added, “We’ll see what happens.”

Many critics of Denard Robinson believe that he should take his path to the NFL in a similar fashion as Joshua Cribbs once did. Cribbs, a former quarterback for Kent State and an undrafted player, signed with the Cleveland Browns to play wide receiver and special teams. Since 2005, Cribbs made the Pro Bowl twice and has earned an amalgamation of other awards while playing a different position than the one he once played in college.

However, if Robinson follows through with his plans, he will have many improvements to make to his game. One of the primary skill-sets that Robinson noted that he needed to become better at was his leadership abilities.

Robinson stated in the interview that, “I’ve got to be a better leader [and] I have to do things on and off the field that help us accomplish our goal of winning the Big Ten championship.”

While leadership is a powerful quality to have as a field general, it will not help Robinson throw the ball more accurate or precise, which is something he must correct. He also needs to work on his footwork and develop a more efficient throwing motion. Not to mention he needs to read down-field secondary coverage better.

Other critics, if given the opportunity, would point out to Denard Robinson that former West Virginia stud quarterback Pat White made the same decision not to play wide receiver in the NFL and failed miserably at playing quarterback for the Miami Dolphins. White was encouraged by several NFL Draft player evaluation committees to play wide receiver instead of quarterback because of his lacking skill-set, but he did not listen and has since been last seen playing football for the United Football League and baseball with the Kansas City Royals organization.

To the trained eye, you could infer that Pat White was a better collegiate quarterback than Robinson currently is. Although Robinson shares several of the attributes that White had when playing, such as speed, quickness, and the ability to turn a broken play into something positive, Denard lacks in so many other measurable categories.

Robinson has his entire Senior season to prove to NFL Draft scouts that he is a worthy quarterback candidate, but my best advice for Denard would be for him to train for the NFL Draft as if he was going to be a wide receiver or kick return specialist. He is a great player to watch on Saturdays and the only way to make sure he plays on Sundays is if he makes the position change from quarterback to wide receiver.

Remember one thing, Robert Griffin III from Baylor just a couple of years ago was being mentioned just like Denard Robinson is today. Very athletic who can do a lot of things, but needs to work on his throwing and won’t make it at the next level as a NFL quarterback. Well Griffin III won the Heisman award along with the Davey O’Brien award in 2011 and looks to be the second quarterback taken in the draft behind Andrew Luck the prototype drop back passer in the NFL. Both will likely be top 10 picks in the NFL draft towards the end of April.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Brandon Folsom

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