Word came out of Michigan a few days ago that Denard Robinson intended to stay in Ann Arbor, but now the quarterback is talking about his decision to remain a Wolverine.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Record-setting quarterback Denard Robinson acknowledged he thought about transferring when Michigan fired Rich Rodriguez.
"Rich Rod was one of the few coaches that gave me a chance to play as a quarterback on the next level," Robinson said in an interview scheduled to be posted on mgoblue.com, the school's website, on Monday.
Robinson decided to stay after talking to his parents, brother and high school coach.
"This is my family -- my home now," he said.
If you're a Penn State fan, this is all really good news. See, while Robinson is one of the most feared players in the Big Ten today, he's no longer the Nittany Lions' problem as they will not face him in his junior or senior years of eligibility. Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State will have to face him, however, so the hope would be that Michigan could wreak a little havoc on Penn State's divisional race.
Teams You Don't Want To Play
Yahoo!'s Gerry Ahern and Jason King have compilied their list of "teams you don't want to play" and guess who shows up?
If DeChellis’ team can maintain this level of intensity, no one in the conference will want to see the Lions coming, which is truly a shocking turnaround. Penn State’s string of playing ranked teams stretches to five games Wednesday when the Lions travel to West Lafayette to face Purdue. If they can take care of the basketball and dictate pace, they have a chance. Is this team an NCAA tournament contender? No. But it sure could make things difficult for the Buckeyes, Boilers, Spartans, Illini, Badgers and Gophers, who will go dancing.
So praise and bulletin board material in the same article? I'm sure the Lions will take it. In case you missed it, Purdue fell at unranked West Virginia on Sunday after dropping a game at Minnesota mid-week, so the Boilermakers' ranking will be taking a tumble. The losses also mean Purdue will likely be more fired by than normal by the time Penn State gets to Mackey on Wednesday night. As tough as Saturday's matchup at Ohio State was, this game could be even tougher considering the circumstances. Both teams need this game.
Rich Rod Does Some Good
Rich Rodriguez did quite a bit around the Big Ten to earn the tag "snake oil salesman," but this is pretty cool of him.
Rodriguez was fired as Michigan’s football coach on Jan. 5, then donated more than 400 items Monday to a Salvation Army store in Wayne, about 15 miles west-southwest of Detroit. On Saturday, the store set up an outdoor tent with a seemingly endless variety of shirts, jackets and hats, auctioning them off to a large crowd of people, many of whom were already wearing Wolverines attire.
Maj. John Aren said over 300 bid cards were handed out for use during the auction, and there were about that many people crowded around the tent at the beginning of the event, despite snow flurries and the usual chilly January weather. The Salvation Army made $12,930 off the 161 of Rodriguez’s items that were auctioned off. The rest were put up for sale.
Rodriguez wasn’t at the auction, but it drew quite a crowd anyway.
"I saw some people who said that they drove 90 minutes," Aren said. "It’s a real blessing for this store. This is the smallest store that has probably struggled the most, so we really appreciate the donation and the activity here."
Sorry Nitt Picks is a little Michigan heavy today, but it's a slow news day and this is a kind gesture by a guy who doesn't get a whole lot of good press these days. Of course, it is a little weird to hear some people drove for an hour and a half to buy the garments of a fired football coach at a Salvation Army store, but at least a good cause made a lot of money, right?
In Scores Of Other Games
- Some guy makes a Lego recreation of the 'shoe. [Dr. Saturday]
- Ollie Ogbu and Evan Royster will play in the East-West Shrine Game. [GoPSUSports.com]
- Adam Robinson wants back in at Iowa. [ESPN.com]