It was definitely a tale of two seasons for University of Michigan sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson. He absolutely destroyed the college football world after his first five games, and his team was undefeated. But the native of Deerfield Beach, Fla. slowed down, as did his team in the back half of the season, once the Wolverines started to play real defenses.
Still DenardD did enough to win the Big Ten offensive player of the year award from both the coaches and media. Robinson was also named to the All-Big Ten first team by the media and earned honorable mention recognition from the coaches.
Robinson directed the league’s top-rated offense that racked up 500.9 yards per contest. The Wolverines led the Big Ten in rushing (251.1 avg.) and were second in passing (249.8 avg.). Robinson set the NCAA record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,643 yards on 245 carries this season. He led the Wolverines with 14 rushing touchdowns. He completed 155-of-250 passes for 2,316 yards and 16 touchdowns. Robinson became the first quarterback in NCAA history to rush and pass for 1,500 yards in a season with his performance in 2010.
Teammates joining Robinson on the coaches’ first team was senior/junior center David Molk (Lemont, Ill./Lemont Township HS); he also earned All-Big Ten second-team honors from the media. He started all 12 games in 2010 after missing the majority of the 2009 due to multiple injuries. Molk was a Rimington Trophy candidate the past two seasons.
Junior nose tackle Mike Martin (Redford, Mich./Catholic Central HS), fifth-year senior linebacker Jonas Mouton (Los Angeles, Calif./Venice HS) and junior/sophomore Roy Roundtree (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison HS) earned all-conference second team honors. Martin received his selection by the coaches with Mouton and Roundtree collecting their honors from the media. Martin also collected honorable mention accolades from the media.
Fifth-year senior left guard Stephen Schilling (Bellevue, Wash./Bellevue HS) earned honorable mention All-Big Ten from both the coaches and media
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net , a Midwest webzine. He’s also a regular contributor to the Tribune’s Chicago Now network, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker Network, and Fox Sports.com
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