Michigan Wolverines

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Devin Gardner will get on the field for Michigan next season as much if not more than last season. The question is where.

Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges would neither confirm nor deny whether Gardner has been working at positions other than quarterback this spring.

“Practices are closed for a reason,” Borges said when asked if Gardner had been working at wide receiver.

But everything else Borges said Monday at least indicated he is looking into ways to play Gardner more this season. Since Borges arrived on campus with Brady Hoke prior to last season, he has steadfastly maintained his ability to evolve and adapt along with his quest to play the best 11 guys he has.

He proved it last season as well, shifting his own offensive philosophy from pro-style to more of a hybrid spread offense to accommodate the abilities of his starting quarterback, Denard Robinson. And he has been hailed as an innovative play-caller and designer, often coming up with different, unique ways to incorporate players.

Last spring his biggest question was how he was going to tailor and incorporate Robinson into what he wanted to do. Now, the same question remains with Gardner.

“He’s an incredible athlete and has so many dimensions to him,” Borges said. “He’s smart and picks it up fast. He doesn’t have any problem that way. That being said, every time you put together a plan, you have to be able to factor him into it somewhere, you know what I mean, if it doesn’t sacrifice any other phase of our game.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to get him in the game in some way, shape or form without breaking the rhythm of the quarterback, which I don’t think we did. See to it that we use him getting the ball, throwing the ball and see him decoying.”

One of the more interesting situations this spring will be how Michigan will use Gardner. The Inkster, Mich., native has been one of the most athletic players on the Wolverines since he arrived on campus in the spring of 2010, when he could have slid his way into a then-open quarterback competition with Tate Forcier and Robinson.

It never really happened as Robinson won the role. Gardner saw his redshirt burned as he played sparingly in front of Forcier for the first two games of the season, and Gardner essentially wasted a year Michigan will eventually try to get back with a medical redshirt for a back problem.

Last season, Gardner played in relief of Robinson and sparingly in what Borges called the “deuce” formation, which had Gardner and Robinson on the field at the same time with Gardner at quarterback and Robinson split out wide or in the backfield.

Gardner has completed 18 of 33 passes in his career for 261 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also has run for 74 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries and caught one pass for 2 yards.

This spring, after a small refresher course on the offense, look for Michigan to continue to tinker with ways to get Gardner into games.

“Devin is a part of that,” Borges said. “We’ve got about five guys that are a part of it.”

One thing Borges isn’t concerned about -- any movement hurting Gardner’s growth as a quarterback and potential heir apparent to Robinson after this season.

Borges feels Gardner is intelligent enough to handle any additional or changed responsibilities while continuing his growth as a quarterback.

Michigan is coming off one of its best weekends in recent memory, with eight football commitments for the Class of 2013, a massive win in men's basketball over Ohio State, and even wins in hockey and softball.

In other words, it was a good weekend to be a Michigan fan.

The Mailbag is only as good as the questions you ask, so make sure to get those questions for next week to jenningsespn@gmail.com or Tweet at her @chanteljennings. Now, on to your questions this week.

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NEW ORLEANS -- A few pregame notes from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, where the teams have been on the field going through warmups.

• As expected, Will Campbell worked as the first-team defensive tackle alongside Mike Martin. Thomas Gordon worked as the starting free safety.
• It's definitely looking like Michigan will have more fans tonight. A lot of Maize in the crowd, and they're very loud.
• Michigan quarterbacks Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner both threw the ball well in warmups and then chest-bumped one another before trotting off the field. Wolverines look loose.
• A Pac-12 officiating crew will work tonight's game. Jay Stricherz is the referee.

Turning point: Michigan cornerback J.T. Floyd read a Nathan Scheelhaase pass perfectly, jumping to pick off the play and return it 65 yards into Illinois territory with 10:50 left in the game. The Wolverines then scored on the following drive with a Devin Gardner 27-yard touchdown pass to Martavious Odoms for a 24-7 Michigan lead.

Player of the game: Michigan defensive tackle Mike Martin. The senior nose tackle was in the Illinois backfield all day, making a team-high nine tackles and having a half-sack. The nine tackles are one off his career high of 10, set against Wisconsin in 2009. He disrupted everything Illinois tried to do on offense in the first half.

Unsung hero of the game: Michigan running back Fitzgerald Toussaint. The Michigan running back started the game hot, gaining 134 of his career-high 192 yards in the first half, but his play led to two early Wolverines touchdowns and forced Illinois to shift its defensive plan and focus on the running back.

What Michigan learned, What Illinois learned: Michigan -- The Wolverines learned two things Saturday. First, that it can win with defense. Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison called the best game of his first season in his second stint with the Wolverines against Illinois. Michigan held Illinois to negative-12 yards rushing in the first half and pressured Scheelhaase all game long. It also learned it might have a good quarterback in backup Gardner. As he received more snaps, he looked more comfortable and his touchdown pass to Odoms was one of the better throws of the season. Illinois -- That the offensive line needs some work. Illinois couldn't block much of what Michigan ran at the Illini on Saturday, barely being able to run the ball and not giving Scheelhaase time to stay in the pocket. It seemed to throw Illinois' entire offense out of rhythm.

What it means: For Michigan, it gives the Wolverines the most wins they've had since 2007, when Michigan went 9-4 in the final season for former coach Lloyd Carr. It also showed Michigan it could win on the road in a hostile atmosphere. For Illinois, it is four straight losses and what looked like a special season in Champaign, Ill. is now in freefall as the Illini have to face Wisconsin next Saturday.

Record performance: It may not seem like a big record, but Odoms had a season-high two catches for 46 yards, including his first touchdown catch of the season. The 46 yards, though, pushed Odoms over 1,000 yards receiving for his career.

Turning point: Mike Martin picked up a safety in the first minute of the second quarter, giving Michigan a 9-7 lead. The rout was on from there. Martin had a great first half, with two sacks, but it was the safety that ignited the Michigan defense and helped bail out the Michigan offense from a Devin Gardner interception.

Stat of the game: 192. That was Purdue’s yardage through three quarters. Of those yards, 67 of them came on the Boilermakers’ first drive of the game. After that, Purdue’s offense was essentially non-existent. They didn’t score points. They didn’t move the the ball. And the Michigan defense turned what had concern as a questionable defensive performance into a dominant one.

Player of the game: Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint. The redshirt sophomore ran for 170 yards Saturday on 20 carries -- along with two touchdowns. He became the running back spark Michigan had been searching for over the past month. Toussaint has always shown potential. This was, by far, the best game of his career.

Best call: Just a beautifully designed play by Al Borges in the third quarter. With Devin Gardner at quarterback and starter Denard Robinson in the game at the skill positions, both Gardner and Robinson rolled right. Running back Fitzgerald Toussaint ran left. Gardner pitched him the ball and a couple of nice cuts by Toussaint later, he ended up in the end zone with a 59-yard touchdown. While the play was made by Toussaint, the decision to send Gardner and Robinson one way and misdirect with the halfback on a toss the other moved almost every defender away from the ball.

What Michigan learned, What Purdue learned: Michigan -- The Wolverines learned they are not the same team that wiped away potential good seasons in 2009 and 2010 with loss after loss after loss following the first loss of the year to Michigan State. Instead, this Michigan team blew out an opponent and stayed in the Big Ten Legends division race entering November. Plus, it might have found a lead running back in Toussaint. Purdue -- The Boilermakers learned they have a long way to go to be competitive with the upper echelon of the Big Ten. Michigan is not Wisconsin or Michigan State, but save for the game’s first drive, the Boilermakers were outplayed in every facet Saturday. They missed tackles on defense and allowed 536 yards. Purdue gained 311 yards of offense, but most came after the game was essentially over.