The Michigan football news cycle has been preoccupied with calls for the jobs of head coach Brady Hoke (unsuccessful so far) and athletics director Dave Brandon (successful) for a good portion of the 2014 college football season.
Somehow and some way the success of former Wolverines Denard Robinson as a running back with the Jacksonville Jaguars has fallen through the coverage cracks more often than not.
Outside of the Michigan spotlight, Robinson's 21 pounds of extra muscle (lifting him from 194 pounds to a sturdy 215) has turned him into a wrecking ball of sorts with the Jaguars, pushing the former Michigan standout to heights unforeseen by many critics who thought he was too small to succeed in the NFL.
"I'm a big believer in God, and he kept me focused," Robinson said, via Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report. "I always prayed about it. At times I got down on myself because I thought I could do so much better. But I never doubted I could make it as a running back."
After gaining just 94 yards on 28 carries in the Jags' first 6 games, Robinson was finally fully given the reins as a feature back in Week 7. Denard has made good on that opportunity so far, amassing 329 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 57 carries in Jacksonville's last three games.
This has all come about despite Robinson having been lost in the shuffle last year as a fifth-round pick on a team searching for its identity.
"I wouldn't say he knew he wasn't ready, but he knew he had to get better, and he constantly worked to get better," Jaguars running backs coach Terry Richardson pontificated. "He would do extra work unsolicited."
That "extra work" is paying dividends these past three weeks, giving Michigan Wolverines fans something to cheer about despite the chaos in Ann Arbor.
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