Denard Robinson: What Michigan QB Must Do to Win 2012 Heisman Trophy

Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is the most electric player in college football.

The dynamic playmaker has captivated the college football world for the last three years as one of the nation's most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks and a constant center for debate over the alleged weaknesses of Robinson as a passer.

In 2012, Robinson will have his final chance to solidify his legacy at Michigan, and aside from winning the national championship, the greatest thing he could do is take home the Heisman trophy.

If Robinson is able to win the Heisman trophy, he will be fourth Wolverine to win the award, the first to win it since Charles Woodson in 1997 and the only Michigan quarterback to be named Heisman.

Heading into the 2011 season, concerns over Brady Hoke's transition to a pro-style offense left Robinson's role as the team's starting quarterback in question. Robinson, who came to Michigan to run former coach Rich Rodriguez's spread-option attack, quickly put those concerns to rest as he put on a stellar 300-yard passing, 100-yard rushing performance on national television against Notre Dame.

Robinson quickly became part of the Heisman race shortly after that game and only helped his candidacy by rushing for 498 yards and four touchdowns in the next two games against Eastern Michigan and San Diego State.

However, Robinson's Heisman stock slowly declined as his passing numbers were simply too mediocre to keep him in the race. Over the entirety of the season, Robinson threw 15 interceptions, throwing more than one interception in three games.

While Robinson's impressive playmaking ability made him a mainstay on SportsCenter, his inconsistency in the passing game ultimately cost him any shot at winning the Heisman.

Coming into 2012, Robinson will once again be one of the biggest names in college football and will get his fair share of headlines. It's up to him if those headlines will ultimately lead to a successful Heisman trophy campaign.

First, Robinson has to lead Michigan to the level of success they enjoyed in 2011 as a team—or more.

In 2011, the Wolverines were one of the more surprising teams in the country, going 10-2 in the regular season and earning a BCS bowl bid to play Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. In order for Robinson to have a chance at the award, the Wolverines will need to be BCS-bound once again, while a Big Ten championship wouldn't hurt either.

Rarely does the Heisman trophy go to a player on a team that isn't one of the nation's best, and 2011 winner Robert Griffin III circumnavigated that requirement by playing for Baylor, a team that drastically overachieved compared to the results the program has grown accustomed to.

Playing for Michigan, Robinson won't get the benefit of the doubt if the Wolverines are mediocre.

Most importantly though, Robinson absolutely has to be more efficient in the passing game. We all know Robinson can run. For the past two seasons he has put up rushing numbers that would make many team's top running back jealous. Rushing for over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns is an impressive feat that Robinson has been able to do or exceed in back-to-back seasons.

If you're going to win the Heisman as a quarterback, you must be able to throw the football. Robinson's numbers simply don't stack up to the best quarterbacks in the country at this point.

In 2011, Robinson completed 55 percent of his passes and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 20 to 15. When compared to Heisman winner Griffin's 72.4 percent completion percentage and 37 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions, Robinson's numbers look pathetic.

Robinson doesn't need to transform into a super-efficient, pro-ready polished passer, he just needs to take better care of the ball and make better decisions.

Robinson has the ability, as his game against bitter rival Ohio State was a perfect example of what a Heisman-caliber Robinson can do.

In the Ohio State game, Robinson passed for a modest 167 yards, not a ton of yards by any means, but he threw for those 167 yards on an incredibly accurate 14-for-17 passing with zero interceptions and three touchdowns. Robinson's efficient passing was accompanied by 170 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground in a gutsy, winning effort to break the team's long losing streak to its rival.

If Robinson can find a way to play like that week-in and week-out while leading Michigan to a Big Ten title, then the Heisman trophy is his for the taking.