Michigan Football Predictions: Why Denard Robinson Will Succeed

Denard Robinson will take a step forward and succeed in 2012. 

There is a debate going on amongst college football fans over whether Robinson will actually take his game to the next level, with good evidence for both sides.  But history and circumstances are on his side.

Last year, Robinson's statistics actually worsened from his breakout 2010 but he took a step forward as a leader and true quarterback.  Robinson's yard totals dropped from 2,570 to 2,173, his completion percentage from 62.5 percent to 55 percent, and his yards per attempt from 8.83 to 8.42. 

But he made a relatively pain free adjustment from a free flow, option offense to a traditional professional offense and led Michigan to a 11-2 record and a Sugar Bowl victory.  Many quarterbacks who thrive in the option offense and make plays with their legs fall off a cliff when transferring to a true pro-style offense, so Robinson's ability to maintain decent (if not WOW) statistics while improving Michigan's win total by four games was actually impressive.

This year, Robinson will improve because he will benefit from more experience in the system, a better offensive line and more talented receivers.  He now knows the pro-style and, while no one should expect Robert Griffin passing numbers, his 2012 passer completion percentage should be back above 60 percent, his yards above 2,500, and his touchdown-interception ratio better. 

Equally important, guard Kyle Kalis and tackle Eric Magnusson will immediately improve last year's poor offensive line.  Roy Roundtree should improve at receiver and young star Jerald Robinson will add a totally new dimension to the offense if he lives up to his talent.

So, when you put it all together, 2012 looks like a very promising year for Denard Robinson and the Michigan Wolverines.