Devin Gardner Devin Gardner ( born December 14 , 1991 ) is an American football quarterback who previously played wide receiver for the Michigan Wolverines football team . During the fall of 2009 , he was rated as the No . 1 dual - threat high school quarterback in the United States by Rivals . com and the No . 5 quarterback by ESPNU . He verbally committed to Michigan ' s 2010 recruiting class in the spring of 2009 and enrolled at the University of Michigan in January 2010 . After switching from quarterback to wide receiver at Michigan at the beginning of the 2012 season , Gardner switched back and took over for starting quarterback Denard Robinson after the latter injured his elbow . Early years . Detroit Jesuit High School . As a sophomore in 2007 , Gardner played football for the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy . He missed five games during his sophomore year because of disciplinary issues , but returned for the final four games of the season . Gardner described the problems he experienced in his sophomore year as a turning point : " I had never sat out before , and that hurt a lot . It was a bad feeling , and I did a lot of growing up . I just knew I had to get better . " Inkster High School . After his sophomore year , Gardner transferred to Inkster High School in Inkster , Michigan . He was Inkster ' s starting quarterback under head Coach Greg Carter , who led Detroit ' s Saint Martin de Porres High School to three state championships . As a junior in 2008 , Gardner led Inkster to a state title game and was responsible for 48 touchdowns , 26 passing and 22 rushing . He also compiled 3 , 287 yards of total offense with 1 , 886 passing yards and 1 , 401 rushing yards . He also helped lead Inkster ' s basketball team to the state semifinals in March 2009 . As a senior in 2009 , Gardner again led Inkster to the state finals game . In the second game of the season , Gardner compiled 340 yards passing and 101 yards rushing against East Kentwood High School . The highlight of Gardner ' s senior season came in Inkster ’ s final regular season game against Steubenville High School in Steubenville , Ohio . Inkster needed a win to advance to the playoffs , and Steubenville had a 60 - game home winning streak . Steubenville led 29 - 28 with 1 : 19 left in the game . With 39 seconds left , Gardner threw a 63 - yard touchdown pass for the win . Gardner described the game - winning drive against Steubenville as follows : " First I threw an out and we got out of bounds . ( Receiver ) Jonathan Taylor got hurt and so he had to come out . Another receiver came in and we did just a regular ol ' route . We didn ' t do nothing special , but they all jumped the out route and left the fly on the outside wide open . I just threw it to ( Vorheese Zanders ) in between the safety and corner and he made a big play . He made one guy miss , another guy fell down , and he scored . " Gardner accounted for 330 yards ( 275 yards passing , 55 rushing ) and five touchdowns ( four passing ) in the win over Steubenville . After the win over Steubenville , Gardner led Inkster to four straight wins in the playoffs , including a 51 - 19 win over Edsel Ford High School ( Dearborn , Michigan ) , a 50 - 28 win over Thurston High School ( Redford , Michigan ) , and a 35 - 7 win over Southgate Anderson High School . Gardner led Inkster to its second straight state finals game . Inkster averaged 31 points per game in the 12 games before the final , but lost 27 - 6 against Lowell High School in the Division 2 title game . Gardner compiled only 134 passing yards in the title game and minus - 26 rushing yards after being sacked three times . In an interview with ESPN in the fall of 2009 , Gardner described his passion for the quarterback position : " With me , you better prepare for everything you think could happen because anything can happen when I ' ve got the ball in my hands . I ' ve got the ball in my hands every play , and it ' s my show . " Combines and rankings . After compiling impressive statistics as a junior , Gardner was invited to a number of combines and camps in the Summer of 2009 . In June 2009 , Gardner participated in the Nike camp in Champaign , Illinois . In July 2009 , Gardner participated in the Elite 11 quarterback camp at Soka University in Aliso Viejo , California , as one of the 12 invited quarterbacks . Gardner earned counselor awards for best footwork and work in the classroom at the Elite 11 camp . After watching Gardner perform at the Elite 11 , JC Shurburtt wrote for ESPN . com that , " Gardner has also surprised many . His hustle , leadership and athleticism add up to a tremendous maturity that will help him compete early for playing time in Ann Arbor . " Barry Every , national analyst for Rivals . com , ranked Gardner as the top overall quarterback at the Elite 11 camp based on long - term potential and the ability to win football games , and added , " He may not be as big or fast as current Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor , but he is a close second . " In September 2009 , Gardner was ranked at the top quarterback prospect in the United States by Rivals . com . He was ranked as the No . 4 quarterback nationally by Scout . com and the No . 5 quarterback in the ESPNU 150 . In November 2009 , Allen Trieu of Scout . com said of Gardner : " He is considered one of the top handful of quarterbacks in the country and is firmly entrenched as a five - star prospect . As far as upside goes , I don ' t see many quarterbacks that have his potential . He has improved as a passer , but I think what is overlooked is that he has gotten faster and has broken longer runs . We ' ve also seen several times where he has put this team on his shoulders and pulled out victories in tough situations . " Many recruiting experts have compared Gardner to Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor . The two have similarities , like size and running style . Under Armour All - America Game . At end of his senior year in high school , Gardner played in the Under Armour All - America Game in Lake Buena Vista , Florida . The game is an all - star contest for high school seniors . Gardner threw an 11 - yard touchdown pass to help the White team win the contest . On the touchdown pass , Gardner rolled right and found Darius White ( a Texas Longhorns commitment ) on a third - and - goal play in the fourth quarter . Gardner shared quarterback duties for the White team with Nick Montana ( son of Joe Montana ) and Phillip Sims ( an Alabama commitment ) . After his appearance in the All - America Game , Gardner said , " It was the greatest experience of my life . Even greater than the Steubenville win that ( Inkster ) had ( during the regular season ) - - which was a monumental for the city of Inkster and the state of Michigan , even . This is just another monumental event . " Former NFL head coach Sam Wyche coached the opposing Black team and praised Gardner after the game . Wyche said , " Devin is going to be a big - time player at Michigan . He and Phillip Sims are guys to me that are going to come quickly to the scene . Devin has a great smile . He is going to sell a lot of product for somebody . He ' s got a great personality . He ' s smart - - you can change directions with him and it doesn ' t bother him at all . He is ready to go . " Michigan . Commitment to Michigan . In the spring of 2009 , Gardner gave an early verbal commitment to Michigan . His high school football coach , Greg Carter , noted , " He told us that he was going to commit to Michigan . He ' s versatile and he fits that offense perfectly . He can throw the ball and he also can run the football . So I think it ' s a good choice for him . " Gardner explained his choice as follows : “ I feel great , like there was no other place that I would be able to be as comfortable as I am now at a different school . It was just the only decision that I could think of . When I go up there it ’ s like a family atmosphere . Sometimes at other schools it seems sort of fake if you will but at this school I felt like they were real . The big thing was that I was their first choice . They wanted other guys but expressed to me I was their top guy and that ’ s the biggest factor . ” Despite the early verbal commitment , other schools continued to pursue Gardner – particularly as his ratings increased in the Summer of 2009 . Gardner received offers from more than 15 colleges , including Michigan , Michigan State , Notre Dame , Nebraska , Oregon , West Virginia , Cincinnati , Wisconsin , Iowa , Florida and LSU . Questions about his commitment were raised after Michigan ’ s freshman quarterback Tate Forcier had a solid season in the fall of 2009 , but Gardner remained committed to Michigan . He reported that his second choice was Florida and his third was LSU . The Detroit Free Press wrote in September 2009 that Gardner ’ s “ dual - threat abilities make him an ideal candidate to run Rich Rodriguez ’ s version of the spread offense . Inkster coach Greg Carter expected Gardner to thrive at Michigan : “ We definitely have a similar offense . A lot of the things they do may be what made them think he could do well there . We run the spread , have four receivers at times , sometimes three receivers and two backs . So we play similar . … There was nothing we put in that he couldn ’ t handle . ” 2010 season . Gardner was one of seven members of Michigan ’ s 2010 recruiting class to enroll early in January 2010 , along with Stephen Hopkins , Austin White , Christian Pace , Jerald Robinson , Ricardo Miller , and Jeremy Jackson . In December 2009 , Tom Luginbill , national recruiting director of ESPN Scouts Inc . , said he believed Gardner would compete for Michigan ' s starting quarterback job in 2010 . Luginbill said , " There ' s no doubt he ' s got the physical tools to do so . " When the Detroit Free Press asked Gardner in December 2009 whether he saw himself starting as a freshman , Gardner said , “ Of course I see myself doing that . ” Asked about Michigan ’ s 2009 starting quarterback , Tate Forcier , Gardner said , “ A great player , a tough player and a funny guy . I think he ’ s going to be great competition for next year . ” In January 2010 , Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez noted , " In order for Devin to play - - and I don ' t even want to discount him because Devin ' s a very competitive guy - - but you ' re going to assume that Tate and Denard don ' t take a step forward . " In February 2010 , Rodriguez added , " We want guys who want competition , and we ' re going to foster that . Devin will give some competition to those other guys . " Gardner played in two games his Freshman season . He ended up completing seven of ten passes for a total of 85 yards and one touchdown . Gardner also rushed for a total of 21 yards on seven rushing attempts , and finished with one rushing touchdown . 2011 season . In Gardner ' s second season at Michigan , he appeared in eight of thirteen games completing 11 of 23 passes for one touchdown , and rushing for a total of 53 yards with a total of one rushing touchdown . Devin Gardner played as a backup behind starting quarterback Denard Robinson , for a second straight year . Gardner was featured mostly in offensive coordinator Al Borges ' " deuce formation " featuring Denard Robinson in either the slot receiver position , or at running back , and with Devin Gardner at the quarterback position . Gardner also played in games where he wasn ' t in the deuce formation . He played against Northwestern , Michigan State , and Illinois due to an injury to Robinson , and he played against Nebraska , and Minnesota due to a large margin of score ( won against Minnesota 58 - 0 , and against Nebraska 45 - 17 . ) Gardner ' s touchdown pass to Martavious Odoms in Michigan ' s game against Illinois sealed a victory for the Wolverines . Despite Devin Gardner playing very little snaps compared to Robinson , Devin said on Thursday , January 13 , 2012 , that he has no plans to transfer . " I ' m going to be back next year . . . I ' m always happy to be a Michigan Man . I want to get my degree at Michigan and be a part of the Michigan family . " 2012 season . In Gardner ' s third season , he was converted to wide receiver . Through the first four games of the season , he was the team ' s leading receiver with 11 receptions for 195 yards and three touchdowns . Following an injury to Robinson ' s throwing arm in the eighth game of the season against Nebraska , Gardner returned to the quarterback position . He received his first start as Michigan ' s quarterback against Minnesota on November 3 , 2012 . Gardner ran for a touchdown and completed 12 of 18 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns as Michigan defeated the Golden Gophers , 35 - 13 . Four of the touchdown drives were longer than 75 yards . Gardner started his second game at quarterback on November 10 , 2012 , against Northwestern . Gardner led the team to a fourth quarter comeback and a 38 - 31 overtime victory . He ran for 47 yards and two touchdowns and completed 16 of 29 passes for 286 yards and two touchdowns . With two second remaining in the game , Roy Roundtree caught a 53 - yard pass from Gardner to set up a game - tying field goal . Gardner scored the winning touchdown in overtime on a one - yard run . In the final home game of the 2012 season , Gardner accounted for a career high six touchdowns in a 42 - 17 victory over Iowa . Gardner completed 18 of 23 passes for a career high 314 yards and three touchdowns . He also rushed for 37 yards and scored three touchdowns . Gardner became the second quarterback in Michigan history to account for six touchdowns in a game , Steve Smith having accomplished the feat twice in 1981 and in 1983 . His total of 314 passing yards against Iowa ranks 16th all - time in Michigan ' s record book for a single game .