Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson apologized to teammates regarding his poor outing against Notre Dame, but defensive lineman Will Campbell assured the quarterback that no apology was necessary. (David Guralnick/Detroit News)
Ann Arbor - Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson apologized to Wolverines fans after his five-turnover performance in a loss at Notre Dame last Saturday.
He echoed those apologies to his teammates following the 13-6 loss.
Michigan does not have a game on Saturday. The Wolverines, who are 2-2 and dropped out of the national polls, open Big Ten play Oct. 6 at Purdue.
"He addressed us in the locker room," defensive lineman Will Campbell said on Tuesday. "We told him it wasn't all on him and we need to stand behind each other and protect one another.
"We all as a defense went up to Denard and told him it's a team thing."
That was the message from Michigan coach Brady Hoke, as well.
"You make sure he understands we took 69 guys to the game, we've got 115 on this football team," Hoke said. "We're all responsible — coaches, players, everybody. He's smart enough, he's competitive enough he'll take a lot out of this game."
Asked if there was a common thread to Robinson's turnovers, Hoke was brief.
"No, not really," Hoke said.
Was there anything Notre Dame did to affect Robinson?
"No, not really," he repeated.
Hoke said Robinson has met with Al Borges, the Wolverines' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He did not reveal much about that discussion.
"Decisions," Hoke said when asked what was said to Robinson. "What else are you going to say? Decisions."
Robinson admitted after the game he clearly made some poor decisions on throws and forced some of them.
"I just told him to keep his head up," right guard Patrick Omameh said. "We understand this is a team concept."
Tailback Fitz Toussaint, who said earlier this season that Robinson gave him a great deal of support while he dealt with legal issues and a one-game suspension, has offered similar support to Robinson.
"He's our brother, we have to show him support," Toussaint said. "We all made mistakes, not just Denard. We did it as a team. We have his back through anything."
Since the loss, Robinson has been resilient.
"Denard's been Denard," Toussaint said. "He had a smile on his face and is ready to improve."
Injury update
Receiver Devin Gardner , slow to get up after hitting a metal apparatus just beyond the end zone late in the Notre Dame game, is "fine", Hoke said.
"Devin, in his own way, is mentally tough," he said. "I think he likes where he's gone to with that being a wideout."
Safety Marvin Robinson didn't make the trip to Notre Dame. Hoke said he suffered an undisclosed injury during the UMass game and realized Wednesday in practice "he just couldn't go."
Big Ten chances
Hoke called last season's 11-2 record a disappointment because it didn't include a Big Ten championship. He was asked his opinion Tuesday of Michigan's chance to win the conference.
"I think nothing's changed," Hoke said.
Does he like the Wolverines' chances?
"I like our team," he said.
Firing up the offense
Late in the Notre Dame game, Campbell was in the middle of the offensive huddle trying to fire up his teammates.
"I was just trying to get them riled up, let them know we were behind them all the way, just let them know the defense was behind them," Campbell said. "At practice if Denard sees the defense lagging, he's going to come in our huddle and tell us to pick it up. It's only right if I did the same thing to them."
Taking time off?
Just because the Wolverines don't play Saturday doesn't mean they're slacking this week.
The team has today off, will practice Thursday and Friday and have Saturday off before returning Sunday.
angelique.chengelis@detnews.com twitter.com/chengelis
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120926/SPORTS0201/209260334#ixzz27YN29rwu
