Confirming what many had always expected, Brady Hoke named Devin Gardner as the Michigan Wolverines starting quarterback this season over Shane Morris on Tuesday evening.
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This is not shocker considering what Gardner has accomplished in his time in Ann Arbor and the work that his top competitor, Shane Morris, has still left to do before he’s ready to start at the game’s most important position.
Hoke maintained all offseason that there would be a competition between the two and both parties mentioned how it made each of them better under the watch of new offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
However, there was little suspense as Hoke let the cat out of the bag at last month’s Big Ten Media Days when he intimated Gardner would be under center for the team’s opener on Aug. 30 against Appalachian State.
The 6-4, 210-pound senior is coming off an up-and-down season that saw him miss the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl loss to Kansas State as a result of injury.
When Gardner was on, he was fantastic as his games against Notre Dame, Indiana, Penn State and Ohio State were riveting to watch him throw and run the ball with great success. However, he also had the penchant for the awful game as his performance Akron, UConn and Iowa would suggest.
Gardner finished with career-highs for completions, attempts, yards, completion percentage and touchdowns, but also had 11 interceptions, which was also a career-high.
With a healthy Gardner under center and grasping Nussmeier’s offense, he could produce numbers that rival Braxton Miller and Christian Hackenberg to be considered the top signal-caller in the Big Ten.