NEXT: Comparing Denard Robinson to Pat White

If you are like me, the one thing that you’ve been hoping for since the Spring Game is that Denard Robinson continues his evolution into the next coming of Pat White.  Realistically, how do these two compare and can we really expect the same kind of radical impact from Robinson that White had in his debut season with West Virginia?

White first started as a redshirt freshman with one year of college practice experience under his belt.  Robinson will start after having a full year of college practice and some in-game experience from last season that didn’t go as well as many had hoped.  For all intents and purposes, these two have the same amount of relative experience going into their first season as starting quarterbacks.

Call me crazy, but not only do I think that Robinson can have a similar impact as White, I think it is entirely possible that he is going to have a breakout campaign and eclipse what we saw from the West Virginia star in his first season as the starter.

In terms of running ability, White was hands down the best running quarterback of the last decade.  After watching highlight clips to compare the two quarterbacks (White; Robinson), I think it’s entirely possible that Robinson is even faster than White.  The big question mark will be Denard’s ability to make the proper reads as quickly as White in order to maximize his ridiculous speed.  White burst onto the scene rushing for just under 1,000 yards in his inaugural campaign.  I think it is entirely realistic to expect Robinson to rush for at least 700 yards this year.

The reason I don’t think that Robinson will rush for more yardage than White did because he will be allowed to throw the ball much more often than White in his first season. White, to put it bluntly, was a terrible passer when he first debuted in 2005.  However, because White was such a threat running the football, and it was so rare to see him throw, it wasn’t uncommon for him to see wide receivers running open all alone down the field.  I expect that in many cases Robinson will face single coverage all over the field as defenses attempt to stack the box to slow down the Michigan rushing attack.  I foresee Robinson taking huge steps forward in the passing department and giving Michigan the balance they will need to have a truly potent offense.

In terms of supporting talent, Robinson will have a better offensive line and better receivers than White initially did, but it will be hard for Michigan to find someone to compare to Steve Slaton.  Slaton and White in the backfield together was a nightmare for opposing defenses.  No one needs to be Slaton, but I just hope Michigan’s committee of running backs will be able to keep defensive lines honest.

My expectations are lofty, but I think Robinson will be up to the challenge.  I think we will see some of the quick-strike offensive fireworks that made West Virginia one of my favorite teams to watch during the Pat White era. Even though Michigan’s offense showed great improvement last year, I think we could see a far superior version this year with Robinson’s talents taking advantage of all of the best parts of Rodriguez’s spread offense.