The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Indiana, and a gutsy near miss ver- sus Ohio State, Michigan's fifth-year senior signal-caller still has much to prove. That's what happens when your team winds up 7-6, with a stall- out in November. Gardner's numbers were certainly solid in his redshirt junior campaign. He completed 208 of 345 passes (60.3 percent) for 2,960 yards with 21 touchdowns, although he'll be look- ing to improve on 11 interceptions. Eight of those occurred prior to Big Ten play, giving encouragement that he smoothed things out in the pass- ing game. He'll still be watched closely for both his ability to operate in new co- ordinator Doug Nussmeier's offense and for how well he takes care of the football while moving the chains. Gardner also rushed for 483 yards last season and scored 11 touch- downs on the ground. He'd have led the Wolverines in rushing had it not been for going 346 yards in reverse, on sacks and other tackles for loss. Nussmeier wants Gardner to man- age better when to run, and upgrade his ability to get rid of the football as well. "A lot of times, you're hampered by a guy like Jeremy Gallon, who makes a lot of plays," Gardner noted, explaining that Gallon's considerable talent can make a quarterback play riskier than necessary. "Sometimes it's just not there, and you're taking chances that don't need to be taken." Gardner knows he's under the mi- croscope as Michigan's quarterback. He insists he's ready for the chal-