The Wolverine

February 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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That year, Gibbons went 1 of 5, and Michigan fans wanted to forget him, welcoming freshmen kicker Matt Wile with open arms. But Wile never kicked a field goal in 2011. With a rigorous offseason training regimen, Gibbons earned the starting job. And it all culminated in overtime of a BCS game. With the season on the line, Gibbons confidently stepped up and drilled a 37-yarder through the uprights (his third make of the game), cementing his incredible turn- around. He finished the year 13 of 17. Best Single-Game Performance DENARD ROBINSON VS. OHIO STATE: Sophomore defensive back Courtney Avery provided the final score in U-M's 58-0 rout of Minnesota with his 83-yard fumble return for a touchdown. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Best Fumble Recovery COURTNEY AVERY VS. MINNESOTA: In the waning minutes of Michi- gan's 58-0 drubbing of the Golden Gophers, the defensive starters were nervously pacing the sideline. The backups had entered the game, and Minnesota was moving the ball, threatening to nix the shutout with a meaningless late-game score. On a first-and-10 play inside the red zone, Minnesota quarterback Max Shortell flubbed a handoff, and the ball bounced directly into the out- stretched arms of Avery, a sophomore nickel back, who took it back 83 yards for the Wolverines' third defensive touchdown in the first five games. The score stretched the lead to 58 points, the largest margin of victory in the history of the Little Brown Jug series. Best Hit WILLIAM CAMPBELL VS. MINNESOTA: Not only did Shortell give up the 83-yard fumble return to Avery, but he was also subject to the most bone- crushing hit of Michigan's season. Late in the second quarter, Min- nesota embarked on a six-play, 36- yard drive — its longest drive (both in number of plays and yards) of the game. On the fifth play of the drive, Short- ell dropped back to attempt a deep pass, and just as he was releasing the ball, Campbell brought every single 30 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2012 one of his 322 pounds down onto Shortell in a huge blow. Campbell belly-flopped Shortell, an exclamation point on a vicious hit, eliciting an ex- tended "Ooooooh," from the crowd. The pass fell incomplete. Best Sack JORDAN KOVACS VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN: Little did Herron know when he took a pick back 94 yards that he wasn't finished scoring on the day. With nine minutes to go in the third quarter, and Michigan holding onto a nerve-wracking 20-10 lead, defensive coordinator Greg Mattison sent red- shirt junior safety Jordan Kovacs on a blitz off the edge. He came in untouched and an- nihilated Broncos quarterback Alex Carder, getting the top of his helmet under Carder's chin and rolling his hips. The massive hit jarred the ball loose. Herron picked it up and ran the remaining 29 yards to paydirt. Biggest Kick BRENDAN GIBBONS VS. VIRGINIA TECH: Perhaps no player in Michigan football history has seen a bigger one-year transformation than red- shirt sophomore kicker Brendan Gib- bons. In 2010, he became a laughing stock, part of a field goal kicking duo that ranked among the very worst in the nation while making just 4 of 14 attempts. Legends are made in The Game. If a Wolverine scores five touchdowns against the Buckeyes (just as Heis- man Trophy-winner Tom Harmon did in 1940), he will be remembered forever for it. And that's exactly what Robinson did. Missing on just three pass attempts all day, Robinson played, arguably, the best, most balanced game of his career throwing for 167 yards and three touchdowns and adding 170 yards and two scores on the ground, accounting for all five Michigan touchdowns. Best Single-Game Performance (Non-Denard Robinson) FITZGERALD TOUSSAINT AT ILLINOIS: If the Purdue game was Toussaint's coming-out party, the Illinois game was the proof that he was here to stay. Toussaint racked up a career- high 193 yards — and a score — on long, flashy runs and short, tough ones to take a firm hold on the No. 1 running back spot. He started out strong, bursting off the edge for a 65-yard gain on the second play from scrimmage, and churned out tough yardage from there, helping Michigan control the clock (32:45 to 27:15) and the game. And he kept running strong as the game wore on. Late in the fourth quarter, Toussaint made an excellent cut to avoid a tackler, then raced up the sideline for a 27-yard, nail-in-the- coffin touchdown.

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