Michigan Football: Pressure on Denard Robinson Increased After Fitz DUI Arrest

Fitz Toussaint's DUI arrest sure puts a lot of people at Michigan in a tough position. Brady Hoke certainly has a tough decision to make in whether or not he should be reinstated.

However, Toussaint may have put Robinson in the toughest position. Robinson will likely not have a proven ball carrier starting next to him when they take on Alabama in the season opener.

Here's a look at how else Toussaint's arrest affects Robinson and their teammates.

No Proven Ball Carrier

As I just mentioned, not having a proven running back starting next to Robinson really hurts. Yes, Thomas Rawls may be the future at running back, but he has little game experience, and has never played in crucial minutes.

Vincent Smith is certainly experienced and proven, but he isn't a guy that the team can ride and hand the ball off to 20 times a game.

This just puts more pressure on Robinson's shoulders in the biggest way.

Bigger Injury Risk

The biggest story surrounding Denard Robinson the last few years has seemingly been his number of carries and how much of a pounding he takes. Personally, I think the amount it gets discussed is quite ridiculous, but regardless, the media will never stop talking about it.

Not having Toussaint as Robinson's running mate likely means more carries for Robinson. A lot of fans would hate to even think about what 20 or so carries would do to his body against Alabama's defense.

If he did indeed go on to get injured in that game, a lot of people would proceed to blame a Robinson injury as Fitz Toussaint's fault.

Slows Down the Offense

Let's face it: Michigan's passing attack wasn't very good last year, and it doesn't figure to be much better here in 2012.

If the passing game does indeed struggle, Michigan simply needs to have the option of handing the ball to a workhorse running back that can carry the offense for the time being.

Thomas Rawls may end up being capable of that sometime down the road, but I don't think he will be right from the get go. With that being the case, Michigan's offense could look pretty ugly against Alabama.

Leadership Role

There is no question that Robinson is the leader of this offense, but as a redshirt junior, Toussaint was now a veteran and becoming a leader.

It will take him a long time to not only gain back the coaches' trust, but his teammates' as well. If he is suspended for any significant amount of time, he could be really letting this team down, as they are capable of much more with him.

The same can be said for Frank Clark.

Let's just hope that both men get their situations cleared up in court, and are back on the field at some point this season.

Conclusion

Toussaint's absence puts more pressure not only Robinson, but on the rest of his teammates as well. Thomas Rawls will now have to step up in a big way; I'm sure he loves the fact that he's getting his opportunity to play, but considering the circumstances, you just wish it could have happened differently.

So will Toussaint's absence cost this team a game or two? That obviously depends on how many he sits out (if any). If I had to predict, I'd say that Hoke suspends him for the first three, and then brings him back in late September for the Notre Dame game. That's what I'd like to see happen, anyway.

Either way, every player just got a little more pressure put on their shoulders, most notably Robinson.