Denard Robinson returning kicks for Michigan? It 'could' happen

Could we see this scene on a kick return? (US Presswire)

Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is a playmaker. He's the kind of athlete who can turn nothing into something huge with one change of direction and a whole lot of speed. Generally, as a coach, when you have that kind of a talent on your roster you think of ways to best utilize it.

As the saying goes, there are no bad ideas. Though the problem with that saying is that there are bad ideas. Some ideas our downright terrible.

As coy as Michigan coach Brady Hoke was earlier this week when asked why quarterback Denard Robinson was on the kickoff return team to open the second half against Michigan State, he was equally so Wednesday when asked if that might happen in the future.

"(It) could," Hoke said as he prepares No. 20 Michigan for a visit to Nebraska on Saturday. "Yeah, we could do that. It's not a bad idea."

Hoke didn't change his tune while doing a radio appearance Thursday morning either, saying "it's a possibility" that Robinson would play more on the kick return unit.

Now, I'm not going to say I don't understand why Hoke would consider it. As I said at the top, Robinson is the kind of player who can change a game every time the ball is in his hands, and kick returns are another way of doing just that.

However, Robinson is also a player who has made a habit of having to leave games to deal with minor injuries he suffers from taking big hits. Putting him on kick returns and actually letting him return is just setting him up to take more hits.

And would the benefit of having Robinson break a return for a touchdown offset the damage that would be done to the offense if he was knocked out of the game with an injury? I sure don't think so. Especially when the Michigan kick return unit hasn't been all that bad. No, the unit hasn't returned a kick for a touchdown, but its 22.39 yards per return is good enough for fourth in the Big Ten.

So while it's an interesting idea, and admittedly a very fun concept to think about, I just don't think it's worth the risk for the Wolverines.