Michigan QB Devin Gardner granted medical hardship for 2010 season
Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner was granted a medical hardship for the 2010 season and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
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Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner has been granted a medical hardship for the 2010 season, leaving him with two seasons of eligibility remaining for the Wolverines.
"I feel great about it. I'm just happy to be able to help the team as long as I can," Gardner told MGoBlue.com. "It's a great place to live and go to school, so I'm happy about that.
"But that's not really the big issue. We have a season this year and spring ball is about to start. I'm really focused and ready to play this season first."
Gardner joked that offensive coordinator Al Borges would "be pretty disappointed" that the quarterback-turned-wide receiver-turned-quarterback would have two more seasons in Ann Arbor, but this comes as great news to Michigan coaches and fans alike. Gardner began the 2012 season starting at wide receiver, but moved back to quarterback -- his original position -- when Denard Robinson suffered a midseason elbow injury.
After a season that featured his first career start at two positions, Gardner enters the 2013 season as the assumed starting quarterback and face of the UM offense. According to Gardner, it is a new role that he has already assumed with him teammates.
"We've had a great winter," Gardner said. "I've led and done things I'm not ordinarily accustomed to doing. I feel like I'm stepping outside myself and being the leader I should be."
Gardner appeared in just three games during the 2010 season, completing seven of 10 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. In 2012 he had 16 catches for 266 yards and four touchdowns before moving back to quarterback, where he threw 11 touchdown passes and just five interceptions with a 59.5 completion percentage in five games as a starter.
Gardner's strongest game at quarterback came in a 42-17 win against Iowa that featured 314 yards on 18 of 23 passing for three touchdowns. The junior was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
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