ESPN college football scribe Bill Connelly released his list of top 75 college football quarterbacks since 2000. And one notable local name snuck on it at No. 50, Denard Robinson.
That’s right, Rich Rodriguez’ pride and joy during his Michigan tenure. The only positive highlight from that era was Robinson.
But to have him as the 50th best quarterback of the century is ludicrous. It’s insane. It’s borderline a fire-able offense. Until you realize it’s Michigan, and you can’t have a greatest (blank) in college football list without the block ‘M’ somewhere on it.
Robinson was an entertaining player. He had a special skillset that allowed him to hit a home run at any moment. But as a quarterback he was not that great.
He had a career completion percentage of 57, which isn’t that good. He only threw 10 more touchdowns than interceptions, also not elite.
He ran a lot – effectively I might add. He had 4,495 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns in his career. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry. Those are really good numbers. I’m not here to argue that. But that’s only part of being a quarterback.
Which is probably why when he got to the NFL, they said ‘hey how about you not play quarterback anymore.’
He was a good college quarterback because of his running ability. But 50th best since 2000? What world are we in.
Who is Behind Denard?
So, the question becomes who is behind Robinson that is unquestionably better than he was. And again, we have to keep this to college years.
How about Teddy Bridgewater who barley made the list at No. 74. He started for almost three years and had a completion percentage of 68 and threw 72 touchdowns compared to 24 interceptions. His rushing numbers are almost non-existent, which was surprising.
But he was the truth at Louisville and selected with the last pick of the first round to play quarterback. And guess what, he still plays that position to this day.
Dak Prescott comes in at No. 72. He has better passing numbers and added 41 rushing touchdowns. He was 1st team All-SEC twice.
Matt Barkley had ridiculous passing numbers he was at No. 61. Aaron Rodgers is No. 59, his numbers don’t wow you because he only played two seasons but he was a first round pick.
Patrick Mahomes is No. 57, he had really good numbers but was at a smaller school so he didn’t get the recognition like others.
Joey Harrington is No. 55, you can laugh all you want but he has good numbers and he was a Heisman finalist. He was a beast in college, one of the reasons he was the No. 1 pick.
I might listen to arguments on some guys between 51 and 75 but there is no way Robinson was better than all of them. It’s not true.
Breaking Down the Resumé of Denard Robinson
Again, I am not saying Robinson was bad. He was an electric player. But he wasn’t some great quarterback.
I’m a Michigan fan and most other rational Wolverine fans couldn’t wait for him to leave by his senior year. They had gotten tired of the antics. Like great this dude can run but half his passes go to the other team.
His resumé isn’t that decisive either. He was 1st team All-Big Ten once in 2010. He was 2nd team in 2011 and honorable mention in 2012.
The Football Writers Association of America voted him 1st team All-American in 2010. But the AP had him 3rd team and other outlets had him honorable mention.
What was the year he went to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist? Oh that’s right none, because it never happened.
He wasn’t a guy that really struck fear in the opponents. The good ones at least. He wasn’t a guy that you could just gameplan for because he was so athletic. But in a third and long situation you weren’t worried because he wasn’t good throwing the ball.
I’m sorry if this offends any Michigan fans out there but that ranking is atrocious. Denard Robinson is not the 50th best quarterback since 2000 and there is probably an argument he doesn’t even deserve to be on the list at all.
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For more from the author Jeramy Stover, check him out on Twitter here: @jstover96
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